Hold on Loosely
by alisonmichal
Summary: Sam, Dean, and Alec go back to Seattle to see if they can find out what happened to the other transgenics. Part of the Family series.
1. Chapter 1

_Alright, here's the next installment in the Family series! Hope you all like it! (Also, if you haven't read the others it might be a little confusing just a heads up)_

* * *

"Oh you gotta be kidding me!" Dean grumbled and then a second later yelled, "Come on!" He slammed his hand against the steering wheel in aggravation.

"Dean, you need to calm down…" Sam mumbled, it sounded like he wasn't really paying attention though and Alec was almost curious enough to sit up but he decided against it.

"This is just freakin' great," Dean muttered as he sat back against the seat. They had been stuck in traffic for a while now; it was just stop and go and Dean had made his annoyance at the situation known.

"It's starting to move a little faster," Sam tried to point out, but Alec didn't think it was going to do much and it sounded like Dean didn't think much of it either when he snorted in disbelief. "Have you talked to Harper?" Sam tried a different track to distract Dean.

Dean took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly before he answered, "Yeah…she made it back to Bobby's and he got her a car to use. She's headed to the east coast now for a hunt…"

"What kind of hunt?"

"Spirit," Dean replied simply and then the car went quiet again. Well that distraction didn't last long.

They usually tried to stick to lonely country roads so things like this didn't happen. Dean hated sitting in traffic; he didn't have the patience for it and they almost always ended up with him yelling at the other cars.

"What the hell kinda car is that?" Dean grumbled after a moment.

"It's a Prius," Sam answered patiently.

"Well, it looks like a piece of-"

"Dean!"

"Sorry, but it does…" Dean tightened his grip on the steering wheel and then muttered, "We could easily crush it…"

Sam just shook his head in disbelief and Dean shot Sam a cocky smile.

They were moving a little more steadily now and Alec relaxed back into his pillow and closed his eyes. He didn't want to admit it, but he was exhausted. Ever since he'd left the hospital he hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep. He could doze for a while, but as soon as he started to actually fall asleep he would immediately be plagued by nightmares. He was used to the nightmares that Manticore brought on, but now he had the added dose of almost killing Sam and Dean every night.

It'd been a little over a week since he'd been possessed by a demon and nearly took out his own brothers. He'd been in the hospital for three days and he'd gotten some sleep there, but now it was like he couldn't shut out the memories.

Dean suddenly slammed on the brakes, "Son of a bitch…" Dean swerved and then pressed the horn. "Moron!"

"Dean!" Sam spoke over the sound of the horn.

"What?" Dean grumbled back; accelerating past the other car. "They'll give anyone a license!"

"Alec's trying to sleep," Sam said a little softer and a small smile broke out on Alec's face at the concern he could hear in Sam's voice.

Dean looked back and saw that he was kind of awake and quickly said, "Sorry kiddo didn't mean to wake you up."

Alec pushed himself up and then leaned against the door. He chuckled a little and said, "It's alright, I wasn't actually asleep." Dean frowned, but he didn't say anything. Alec knew this was going to be the best chance he was going to get so he leaned forward and just asked, "Can we go to Seattle?"

Sam and Dean turned and shot him matching looks of surprise and he just shrugged back.

"You want to go to Seattle?" Sam asked after a moment while Dean turned and looked at the road again.

Now he was a little more reluctant to answer. Asking was the easy part, explaining why he wanted to go was a little more complicated. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and then answered, "Yeah, um, y'know it'd be good to see the old home again…"

He watched as Sam and Dean shared a look and he held his breath and waited. Once the idea had gotten in his head, he couldn't get it out. He wanted to go to Seattle and see for himself if everyone had made it out. He'd find Original Cindy if he could and maybe she would know where Max was. He didn't want to stay in Seattle, he'd found a place with Sam and Dean, but he needed to know what was going on.

"Yeah, we can go to Seattle," Dean finally said and Alec breathed out in relief.

"You wanna try and get some more sleep?" Sam asked after a moment. Alec could tell he was worried, but there was no way he would be able to sleep now.

He shrugged back at Sam, "Nah, I'm not really tired."

Sam didn't look like he believed him, but they both had to brace themselves a second later. Dean swerved hard and Alec was almost thrown around in the backseat.

"I could drive better with my eyes closed!" Dean shouted. He cut off the car that had made them swerve and then sped back up.

"Could you try to not kill us before we get there?" Sam asked in aggravation.

"It's not _my_ driving that's gonna get us killed," Dean replied defensively.

"Well it's not gonna get us there in one piece either," Sam shot back.

Dean mimicked Sam and rolled his eyes.

"Real mature. How old are you again?" Sam asked sarcastically.

"Shut up," Dean grumbled, but Alec could hear a smile in his voice.

"Man, what a great comeback," Sam said with a laugh.

Dean chuckled, "Bitch."

"Jerk," Sam immediately replied and they both fell into silence.

"Wooooow," Alec said, drawing out the word, "You guys are weird…"

Sam and Dean both let out surprised laughs and then Sam turned to look at him, "You better watch out, you're part of this family…"

"Means the weird will rub off on you, kid," Dean finished Sam's sentence.

Alec chuckled, "Doesn't change the fact that you guys are weird."

* * *

Sam glanced back again to check on Alec. He'd finally given in and fallen asleep when they were halfway to Seattle. He didn't seem to be sleeping very much, well even less than usual, and Sam couldn't hide that he was worried.

"Sam, we need to wake him up," Dean said once he saw that Sam still hadn't made a move. Sam noticed though, that Dean still kept his voice down so _he_ wouldn't accidently wake Alec up.

"I know…" Sam reluctantly replied. He finally reached back and shook Alec's knee. He was lying so his feet were behind Dean and his head was behind Sam, so Sam couldn't really reach his shoulder. He quickly withdrew his arm from the backseat after he shook Alec's knee. Alec didn't always know where he was when he woke up and Sam couldn't blame him for lashing out when he did.

Alec's eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright, instantly ready to fight off any threats.

"Easy Alec, it's just us," Sam soothed in a quiet voice.

Alec's eyes took a second more before they focused on Sam and Dean and he slowly relaxed. Sam watched him relax each muscle group and composed himself to be his laidback self. If he didn't know to look for it, he would have never noticed that Alec composed himself on purpose. He glanced out the window a moment later and Sam assumed he was trying to figure out where they were.

"We're almost to Seattle," Dean quickly answered his unasked question.

Alec nodded in response and then pulled out his cell phone. Sam watched him curiously; they'd gotten him a cell phone after he'd recovered from getting hit by their car. He couldn't even begin to guess who Alec would be calling since he didn't have any of his old numbers.

"Who are you calling?" Sam finally asked, unable to hold on to his curiosity any longer.

"Original Cindy…" Alec mumbled.

"You still know her number?" Sam asked incredulously.

Alec smirked, "Photographic memory…comes in handy when you switch phones all the time." He called and then waited, but there seemed to be no answer. He pulled the phone from his ear and started dialing again. Alec ran his hand through his hair and then let out a surprised, "Hey! OC?" Sam wished he could hear the other side of the conversation, but he'd just have to settle for hearing Alec's side and watching his reactions.

"…It's Alec…Yeah, no it's really me…" Alec smiled a little. "I don't have a good answer for that…I'm callin' now, can you cut me some slack?" Alec laughed at something Cindy said and then asked, "Hey, are you still in that old apartment you shared with Max?" He rolled his eyes suddenly, "Yeah, I know Max isn't there…Can we please not talk about this over the phone?" He nodded, "Yeah, we're almost to Seattle…I'll see ya soon and I'll catch ya up on everything…" He chuckled, "Alight, bye OC. Wait!" Alec suddenly shouted and then he cleared his throat. "I mean…sorry, but we don't have a way through the checkpoints…" Alec's eyes wandered as he listened and then he nodded, "Yeah, we'll meet you there. Bye."

He put his phone back in his pocket, "Ok, good news is OC is still in Seattle and we have a place to go, bad news is we still have to get through the sector cops and I don't have a sector pass anymore, but OC's gonna meet us to get us through."

"What do you mean sector pass?" Dean asked.

"To get through the checkpoints. How'd you guys get through the first time?" Alec asked in confusion.

Sam and Dean both frowned and shrugged and then Sam said, "We were in a hurry last time…"

"Yeah, it was mainly find you and get the hell out," Dean said with a smile.

"Well, I might be able to talk our way through the checkpoints, but it kinda depends on who's working," Alec muttered.

"Good thing you called OC then because neither of us can talk to the, um, sector cops," Dean said after a moment.

"Why not?" Alec and Sam asked at the same time.

"Alec, I'm pretty sure they know what you look like," Dean said with a smile. "Y'know the whole beating up 8 cops thing probably pissed them off."

Alec's mouth quirked in thought, "I don't think it was 8…it might have been 5…"

"Anyway," Dean said bringing Alec's attention back, "They know what you look like and we look alike so…"

"Got it," Alec said with a smile.

Alec directed them after that to where they were going to meet up with Original Cindy. As soon as Dean stopped Alec got out of the car and he didn't wait for Sam or Dean before he started walking away. It took Sam a minute to see where he was going, but then he saw someone leaning against the wall.

"That kid's gonna be the death of me…" Dean muttered under his breath.

Sam cracked a smile and pushed Dean's arm, "You're starting to sound old."

Dean chuckled, "Yeah, well, I think I've aged 10 years since we found him."

"I'm with ya there," Sam replied. They sat there for a second and then slowly started to get out of the car. The person who had been leaning against the wall had just spotted Alec and Sam saw that it looked like Original Cindy.

Sam stood just outside of the door as Cindy slowly started towards Alec. She started with slow steps, but quickly sped up until she was practically running towards him. He met her halfway and picked her up in a hug. He could hear their laughter from where he was at the car and it made him break out in a smile of his own.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry for the delay, but here's the next chapter! Hope y'all like it!_

* * *

Dean slowly walked over to where Alec and OC were with Sam close behind him. Alec set Cindy back on her feet, but she kept her hands on top of his shoulders.

"It's great to see you again!" Alec said with a huge smile.

"You too sugar! Now, let Original Cindy take a look at ya," OC said with an equally big smile. She took a small step back and she moved her hands down to his forearms. She looked him over quickly and then said, "Well, you're just as handsome as ever, you look a little tired but it's good to see you're still in one piece."

"Of course I am," Alec replied with a cocky smile. He glanced over his shoulder at Sam and Dean walking his way. "I think you guys have met before, but Cindy this is Sam and Dean. Sam, Dean, this is Original Cindy."

"Yeah, we've met before," Cindy said with a sly smile and Dean smirked back.

"You're not gonna hit me again, are you?" Dean asked, only somewhat kidding.

"We'll see," Cindy said with a chuckle, but it was obvious that she wasn't actually going to hit him. "I'm surprised to see you boys again."

"We're hard to get rid of," Sam said with a smile.

"I didn't think you two would get close to TC, let alone find Alec and actually rescue his ass," OC said with a playful shove at Alec's shoulder. "Y'know, Max is gonna freak when she finds out you're still alive," she said slowly.

Alec let out an amused huff, "Yeah, her favorite punching bag is back from the dead…she might even break down and cry with disappointment."

Original Cindy's eyebrows rose in disbelief, "You really think your girl cares that little about you? You got another thing comin'. She hasn't stopped-"

"Anyway…" Alec interrupted, "What's your plan to get us in?"

Cindy pursed her lips, but then finally replied, "Well, everthin' is ten times more secure since you all broke out, there is no way we're sneakin' in," Cindy explained. Alec sighed, but Cindy spoke again before he could say anything, "But, I have a way in."

"What is it?" Dean asked over Alec muttering, "Don't even say it…"

"Sorry Boo, it's the sewers," Cindy said with an apologetic pat to Alec's shoulder.

Alec groaned and mumbled, "It's always in the sewers…"

"You'll have to hide your car," Cindy said with a look at the Impala.

Dean knew this was coming, but he didn't want to give up the Impala. Who knew what would happen to her while he was gone?

Alec held up finger and said, "Wait, how'd you get through just now? Cause I know you didn't get here through the sewers. Unless of course Seattle has cleaned up all the sewers and made them a nice walkway underground. Which is completely unlikely."

"Alec," Cindy suddenly cut in.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up a sec and I'll answer," OC said with a smile and then continued, "I have a sector pass and I'm not wanted by every cop in Seattle so that means I can just walk through the checkpoints."

Alec just rolled his eyes at her, but Dean finally thought he had a solution to all of this. Alec still wouldn't like it, but he'd be able to keep his baby off the side of the road.

"Why don't you give the sector pass to Sam," Dean started slowly, directed at OC, "and Sam can drive the Impala? The cops aren't looking for him and he'll be able to get through the checkpoints with the pass, and then we'll have a way to get around once we're inside."

"But Sam doesn't know where to go once he's inside…" Alec replied after a moment.

"Why don't I just drive in there?" Cindy asked like it was the obvious solution.

Sam, Dean, and Alec all looked at her like she was crazy. She immediately took a small step back and put her hands up in surrender, "Ok, ok, bad idea," she mumbled quickly. Dean had to admit, his look was more of a glare and he couldn't blame her for the reaction she had.

"OC can come with me," Sam suddenly said. He took a look around at the group and then continued, "We'll get through the checkpoints, the car will be inside, and you guys can go through the sewers."

"And I'm still stuck going in the sewers," Alec mumbled to himself.

It was so simple. It took him just a second before he broke into a smile and hit Sam's arm, "Looks like that college education is finally comin' in handy."

Sam pushed him back with a laugh, "Ah shut up."

Alec shook his head at Sam and Dean's antics and started walking towards the closest manhole. Dean handed Sam the keys before he followed Alec. He was already halfway down the hole when Cindy called out, "Alec!"

Alec glanced up at Dean, who just shrugged back. "Yeah?" His voice echoed up the hole, but Dean looked over at Cindy and it looked like she heard him.

"Go to Joshua's old place!"

Alec scowled, "Why?"

"We're gonna pick up Logan before we go to Max," OC said quietly, like she didn't really want Alec to hear her.

Alec immediately groaned in response and whined, "Do we have to?"

Cindy chuckled, "Yeah, Max needs some info from him and since we're already goin' it makes sense that we take him."

"You told Max we were here?" Alec asked, and Dean couldn't really tell if he would be happy or upset that she knew they were coming.

"She only knows I'm comin'. I only heard from you a little bit ago."

"Oh. Right. Ok, we'll meet you at Josh's," Alec said and then he started to descend once more. Dean could hardly hear him muttering, "First through the sewers and then add the world's biggest, most annoying nerd…this day couldn't get any better…"

* * *

"So, are Alec and Max a thing?" Sam asked OC curiously once they had made it through the first checkpoint.

OC looked over at him with her eyebrows raised and she blinked slowly at him. "He ever talk about Max?" She asked instead.

Sam thought for a moment, but he could only think of one time when Alec actually even mentioned Max. It was right after they had got him out of Seattle. He had a busted knee and it was right after he had tried to sneak out of the motel room. He could only remember the kind of mixed feelings Alec was displaying when he spoke of Max. "Only once…" Sam finally answered.

She must have heard something in his voice that convinced her to actually talk to him, "Don't worry 'bout it too much sugar. Alec is almost impossible to get to know for real."

Sam just shot her a quick look of confusion and she laughed a little. "I know he talks a lot and makes you feel like he's telling you things, like you're getting to know him…but I've known him for more than a year and I've still barely scratched the surface."

It was quiet in the car while Sam thought about what OC said. He thought they had been getting Alec to open up to them, but now he wasn't so sure. Alec had never brought up Seattle or any of the people he knew here. He refused to talk about Manticore, but Sam couldn't blame him on that one.

"Hey," Cindy softly interrupted Sam's thoughts, "Just because he's not talkin' 'bout himself doesn't mean its anythin' you did. He likes bein' round you two. He wouldn't stay if he didn't."

"Really?" Sam couldn't help but asking.

"Really sugar," Cindy said with a smile. "He's been locked up his entire life. If he didn't like being 'round you, then he wouldn't stay. He probably won't admit it, but the boy likes his freedom."

* * *

Dean let Alec take the lead through the sewers. Even though he had complained about the sewers to begin with, he hadn't said anything since. Dean decided now probably wasn't the time to tease him about being in the sewers since he was being uncharacteristically quiet.

He had no idea where they were going or who Logan was, but it was actually really nice to not be on a hunt. And to be honest, the sewers weren't as bad as Alec made them out to be.

"It's gonna be a week before I get this smell out of my nose," Alec suddenly broke the silence.

Dean nudged him, "Oh c'mon, this isn't so bad…"

Alec actually stopped and turned to look at Dean. "Dude, if you could actually smell what it's like down here, you would feel my pain. Lucky for you, your ordinary nose can't pick up everything mine can…"

Dean messed up Alec's hair out of habit before he rolled his eyes and motioned for him to keep going. "So who's this Logan guy?"

"Max's sometimes boyfriend," Alec answered shortly.

"You don't like him," Dean stated it instead of questioning him.

Alec huffed out a laugh, but then said, "He's an ok guy…we just don't really get along. Oh, finally." Alec looked up a ladder to the manhole at the top. Dean had no idea where they were, but he didn't argue as Alec started to climb up. Dean followed him and found himself in the middle of a grungy street in front of a tiny, rundown house.

Alec snuck around and checked in the windows before he walked back over to Dean. He signaled him to follow him, but to stay quiet. Confused, Dean slowly nodded and reached for the gun he had stashed in the waist of his pants.

Alec stopped his motion and shot him a look of 'what are you doing?'

Dean's eyes widened and he motioned to the house and sent Alec's signals back at him.

Alec tried to keep the smile off his face as he signaled back that it was all clear he just wanted to stay quiet.

Dean rolled his eyes and shot him a look of 'why didn't you say so in the first place?'

Alec shrugged back and then walked silently to the house. Dean huffed at the absurdity of little brothers, but followed him anyway. Alec picked the lock and then slipped inside with Dean close behind him. He ignored the clutter and the mess as Alec made his way through the house. It was obvious he'd been here before and Dean couldn't stop the pang of sadness that went through him. Who knew if Alec would want to stay here with his friends or with his new family?

Alec motioned for him to stay there until he signaled. Honestly he didn't want to stay back, but Alec had followed his lead when they were hunting so he would stay back for now. But if Alec was in any kind of trouble, then he wouldn't hesitate to move.

He peeked around the corner and watched as Alec walked into what looked like the living room. Dean could see a small set of computers and someone with their back to him and Alec. He couldn't believe it; Alec had said the house was clear! He should have known. He didn't want to give Alec away though, so he stayed where he was.

Alec crept around until he was right next to the man in front of the computers. "Hey buddy!" Alec suddenly said and the guy jumped about a foot in the air. But a second later and Alec had his hands up in a calming gesture, but Dean couldn't see what the guy was holding. Alec laughed a little and said, "Easy Logan, it's just your old friend Alec."

"Alec?" Logan asked in surprise.

Dean took a small step forward, but his movement must have caught the other man's attention. He didn't even know what happened, but Logan had swiveled around and was pointing a gun at him. Alec moved before Logan could get a shot off and suddenly had the gun in his hand.

"Easy there Logan! Feelin' a bit jumpy today huh?" Alec asked with a forced smile.

"I wonder why…" Logan muttered with a glare at Alec. Then he looked back and forth from Dean to Alec and asked, "Who is this?"

Alec's smile turned genuine as he answered, "This is my big brother Dean. He's my DNA donor, believe it or not."

Logan stood and Dean thought he heard a weird noise when he did, but he didn't mention it. Logan still looked between the two of them until he finally said, "I believe it…How did Manticore get your DNA?"

"Doesn't matter now," Alec quickly stated and then said, "Get whatever you need cause Sam and OC will be here soon to pick us up."

Logan's eyebrows drew together, "What? Wait, who's Sam? Where are we going?"

Alec sighed, "We're gonna go see Max. OC said you needed to talk to her so we're here to pick you up and then we're leaving. And Sam is Dean's actual little brother and hopefully they'll get here soon…"

"There's another one of you?!" Logan couldn't help but asking.

Dean saw Alec clench his jaw before he answered, "Relax, he doesn't look like me. Now hurry up and get your things." He turned away and started walking out of the room. Dean didn't hesitate to follow him; there was no way he was going to hang around and make small talk.

Dean followed him into the basement and he was surprised when Alec sat down in front of an ancient piano. He didn't say anything, but he did motion for Alec to scoot over and sat next to him.

"So, you wanna tell me what's wrong," Dean finally said to break the silence. He knew Alec, and Alec being quiet and moody meant that something was going on with him.

Alec pressed a few keys before he answered, "It's just weird being back here…"

"C'mon, I know there's somethin' else," Dean said as he bumped his shoulder into Alec's.

Alec kept pressing random keys on the piano, but he stopped abruptly and looked right at Dean, "I don't even know why I wanted to come back here. Max isn't going to be happy to see me; I'm just the pain in her ass that's going to screw everything up."

Alec looked away as soon as he stopped talking and went back to pressing keys. "Alec, you're not a screw up," Dean softly reassured, "Max is going to want to see you again and if she doesn't, then we'll leave."

Alec looked up with surprisingly shining eyes and Dean met them without any problem. He would do whatever it took to get it through Alec's thick head that he mattered, that he wasn't a screw up, and in no way did he or Sam want him to be anywhere but with them.

Alec looked away and then let out a light laugh, "Sorry seems I'm getting worse than Sam with the chick flick moments…"

Dean chuckled, "As long as you don't tell Sam, then we're fine."

Alec nodded but he didn't make any move to get up. Instead of getting up himself, Dean put his hand on the keys and lightly started to play. He didn't actually know how to play the piano, but he did know one song.

"You know how to play?" Alec asked curiously. Dean was surprised that he could actually pick out a melody from his lousy skills.

"Oh, no," Dean quickly refuted, "I'm just messing around."

Alec's face fell just a little, but he quickly covered it up with a smile, "Coulda fooled me…thought it sounded like a song."

"Well it was actually a song, I just don't really know how to play it," Dean explained.

"What song?"

Dean cleared his throat; he never talked about his Mom with anyone, but if he wanted Alec to open up, then he would have to do the same. "'Hey Jude'…my Mom used to sing it to me when I was a kid."

Alec must have realized how rare it was for him to talk about his Mom because he looked like he was at war with himself about something. "What was she like?" Alec finally asked, his voice small and quiet.

"She was amazing," Dean replied quietly. "She cut off the crusts of my sandwiches, sang me to sleep at night, rubbed my chest when I was sick…she taught me how to ride a bike and we'd go on walks around the neighborhood…she could make everything better, no matter what."

"I'm sorry," Alec said after Dean finished.

"For what?" Dean asked. He didn't know what Alec's reaction would be, but he didn't think that was going to be it.

"You lost her. You knew what it was like to be loved and then she died. I've never had a Mom, so I don't know what I'm missing, but you do," Alec finally replied.

Dean had to take a deep breath to calm his emotions. Alec must have realized he'd about reached his limit on this subject so he put his hands on the keys for real. It was obvious that he actually knew how to play just by that simple move. He played a quick little tune that only lasted a few seconds, but looked almost impossible to play.

"You know how to play piano," Dean said, impressed.

"I had to learn for a mission," Alec replied slowly. Dean could see the internal battle waging again and he wondered what was going through Alec's head. Finally, he said, "I was sent to remove a threat to Manticore. I was supposed to get close to his daughter so I could get to him. I just got a little closer than I meant to and actually started to care for her…"

"What happened?" Dean gently prodded.

"I was prepared to take out her Dad, but I was given orders to take them both out. It was the first time I ever disobeyed orders. I tried to warn Rachel about what was going to happen, but she ran away from me. I can't blame her," Alec let out a huff of a laugh, but then said, "Manticore made sure that the mission would succeed. I only found out after I got out of Manticore that she wasn't killed in the explosion; she'd been in a coma for two years and died just after I saw her."

"Alec, I'm sorry," Dean said as he put his hand on Alec shoulder to comfort him.

Alec forced out a laugh and then said, "Alright, for real this time, no more chick flick moments."

Dean chuckled and then said seriously, "Alright, then teach me something."

Alec looked at him like he had just grown a third arm and Dean couldn't help but burst out laughing. "C'mon, we gotta wait for Sam anyway.

Alec took one more second to consider this and then nodded once. "Ok, put your left hand here and your right hand like this."

* * *

Sam and OC walked up the rickety old steps to an equally rickety old house. Sam had no idea where exactly they were, but he knew they were at the house that Logan was currently living in. OC had told him that Alec had actually lived her for a while and now he knew why Alec never complained about the motels they stayed in.

OC didn't bother knocking; she just walked in and yelled, "Logan! Got ya a ride to Freak Valley!"

An average looking man with glasses stepped into a doorway to the left and looked at both of them. He took an extra look at Sam, but he didn't say anything. Sam realized that Dean and Alec must already be here somewhere since Logan seemed to be expecting them. Just as he realized this, he heard what sounded like a piano and what sounded like an actual song.

Ignoring Logan until he found his brothers, Sam went off in search of the sound. He searched the house until the piano got louder and he could hear Dean and Alec laughing. He found a set of stairs that led to the basement and he quietly started down them. He finally figured out that the song was Heart and Soul and that Dean and Alec were both playing.

He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and watched the two of them messing around. Alec was playing the bottom half of the keys, keeping the tune going while Dean was playing the top half, doing the melody. Dean hit a few wrong keys, but he kept going. It was only when Alec started snickering that Dean moved one of his hands from the keys and pressed down on one of Alec's hands. Alec pushed him to the side and Dean went back to playing after just a second.

"Hey Sam," Alec said, surprising both Sam and Dean.

Dean immediately stopped playing and turned to look at Sam. "Finally! You see what I've had to put up with!" Dean said with a laugh.

"Shut up," Alec grumbled with a smile, "You asked me to teach you."

Sam stepped a little closer, but then wrinkled his nose in disgust, "Gross, you guys smell like the sewers…"

Sam knew he'd said something wrong when he saw the mischievous glint in Alec's eyes. Alec stood and then opened his arms wide, "Hug me brother!"

Sam tried to run up the stairs even though he knew it would be no good. Alec caught him within seconds and gave him a big hug. Sam groaned and pretended to push Alec away. He finally sighed in resignation and patted him on the back. He was released a second later and Alec looked up at him with a wide smile.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get your chance to be down in the sewers before we leave," Alec said.

"I can't wait," Sam grumbled.

"Alright, let's get a move on," Dean finally said with a smile in his voice.

The three of them made their way back up the stairs to find Logan and OC waiting for them. Sam could feel the tension as soon as Alec and Logan were back on the same floor. OC had told him that they didn't really get along, but he didn't think it would be this obvious.

"There's a secure road that will take us all the way to Freak Valley…" Logan said awkwardly once they were all together.

"Which means we can drive there right?" Dean asked after a second.

"Yes, and they have a garage there for all the cars," Logan replied.

"Then what are we waitin' for?" Dean asked and then said, "Let's go."

* * *

Sam was surprised at how easy it was to get to Freak Valley, as Logan and OC kept calling it. It had taken forever to get through the streets of Seattle, but the road they took was completely clear. Logan had told them that Freak Valley was an abandoned housing community just outside of Seattle. Max had found it after TC had been taken down and other transgenics had come back to stay. He didn't say who had come back, but Sam wouldn't know who was who anyway.

It was silent in the car except for Logan giving Dean directions. Logan, Alec, and OC were all in the back, but Alec was just looking out the window, refusing to talk. Any time Sam looked back to try and get Alec out of his silence OC would shake her head no.

It was weird; the vibe Alec was giving off was that he was nervous. Sam hadn't ever really seen him nervous before, but this was definitely him being nervous.

"It's only a couple more miles…" Logan stated quietly.

"Guys…" Alec said hesitantly, but he immediately had Sam and Dean's attention. "I know you guys are used to me and the fact that I'm a clone and a genetically engineered super soldier that was grown in a test tube-"

"Alec," Dean cut off after he realized that Alec was rambling.

"Sorry…anyway, you guys are used to me, but Joshua might be here and I don't really know who else cause I didn't think to ask…anyway, they don't look like me, they don't look completely human."

"Dude, remember when we told you what we did for a living," Dean hedged, knowing that they weren't alone in the car. Alec nodded so Dean continued, "We warned you that it sounded crazy and you said you were good with weird. Well, it works both ways."

Alec looked at Sam for confirmation and Sam immediately nodded.

Alec took a deep breath and then said, "Good. I just wanted to warn you…"

"There's a guard up ahead, slow down and I'll talk to them," Logan said after a second.

Dean slowed the Impala until he stopped and a kid with a rifle slung over his shoulder appeared almost out of thin air. He looked to be only 15 with shaggy brown hair. Dean rolled down his window and the kid moved closer. He blinked at Dean in recognition and immediately stood a little straighter.

"Sir?"

Dean looked over at Sam and he just shrugged back, equally confused. They both turned to look as Alec opened the back door and got out. The kid's attention immediately shifted to Alec and he stood at attention.

"X6-734 Sir," the kid said as if Alec was his Commanding Officer.

"Do you know who I am?" Alec asked after a second.

"X5-494, sir," the kid answered.

"Alright, no more sir," Alec said and Sam could hear a small smile in his voice. "Call me Alec. What's your name?"

"Link, sir. Um, sorry," Link quickly replied.

"It's alright," Alec said with a chuckle, "Can you point us to wherever command is?" Alec asked.

"It's the third house on the right."

"Perfect! Thanks Link, see ya 'round," Alec said with a quick clap on Link's shoulder before he got back in the car. Dean gave Link a little wave before he pulled into Freak Valley.

There were houses on both sides of the road, but they were all run down. The grass on the lawns was unkempt, the windows were broken, and most of the doors were off their hinges. Sam thought it was a strange place to live, but maybe he was judging it too soon.

They all got out of the car once they were at the house that Link had told them, but Sam noticed that Alec was the last to get out. Sam and Dean hung back so that Logan and OC could lead the way into the house. It looked like no one was there; the lights were all off and it looked just as abandoned as all the other houses.

Logan was the one to open the door and he called out, "Don't shoot! It's just Logan!"

Sam still couldn't see anyone, but he heard multiple guns disarm after Logan said that. They moved inside and Sam was surprised to see that the abandoned look was completely fake. There was a wall set up to keep the abandoned look going while inside it was clean and had a surprising amount of technology.

The walls inside had been torn down to make the space bigger, but the kitchen had been left where it was and one room and one bathroom had been left alone. The main part of the room was full of computers, but it looked like no one was actually in the house.

The first person to appear was a girl with long brown hair. She stood completely still with her mouth slightly open. No one said anything, but people started appearing from their hiding places, all wearing a look of surprise.

Alec was the first one to break the silence with a quiet, "Hey Maxie."

* * *

 _More soon..._


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey Maxie."

Alec didn't know how Max would react to seeing him again; he really just hoped she wouldn't try to kill him as soon as she saw him. He had wanted to put off seeing her again until the last minute, but as luck would have it, she was one of the first transgenics he ran into.

"Alec?" Max asked, almost breathlessly.

Alec cleared his throat nervously and slowly took a step forward. "Quite the place you've set up…"

Max held up a hand to stop him and then asked quietly, almost like she was in shock, "Where have you been?"

"Max, I'm sorry," Alec replied softly.

Max started slowly moving toward him while she spoke, "You stay behind so everyone else can get out. The cops claim that they shot you and there's no way you could have survived," Max was right in front of him now and her voice was starting to get louder. "There's no proof that you're dead or alive. You don't check in with anyone. What was I supposed to think?"

"Max-" Alec tried, but Max cut him off by shoving him in the chest. He stumbled back a few steps, but she was already back on track.

"I thought you were dead!" She yelled throughout the room. "I've thought you were dead for months and now you walk in here like nothing's happened! 'Hey Maxie'? That's all you have to say to me?"

"If you'd stop for a second maybe I could explain," Alec replied with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Stop!? Oh, I haven't even started yet!" Max pushed him back again and that was enough for him to drop his attempt at apologizing.

"You think maybe there's a reason I didn't call you?" Alec yelled back at her, ignoring all the other people in the room.

That made her stop and think; even though it was for only less than a second. "Because you're a selfish ass?"

"No, because you treat me like I'm a selfish ass!" Alec had to bring himself back under control before he started throwing punches.

Max shoved him hard in the chest again and he had to catch himself to keep from tripping over his own feet. He saw Sam and Dean start forward, but he barely shook his head no to them.

"That all you got, Maxie?" Alec challenged.

That was all Max needed to let out her anger at him. She blurred to him and kicked at his head, but he ducked and swiped her leg out from under her. She fell, but rolled backwards and hopped to her feet. Alec blocked each of her punches, but didn't throw any himself. Max had a right to be mad at him, but he would start fighting back if he needed to.

Max actually made it through his defenses and landed a hard punch to his side. His breath left him at the impact and he had to actually stagger back to give himself a second. Normally, he wouldn't have even noticed the hit until later. His ribs had healed for the most part, but they were still really sore.

Max's look turned from anger to confusion when he staggered back with his arm wrapped around his ribs.

"What's wrong? Can't take a hit?" Max asked after a second.

Alec quickly straightened and smirked back at her, "Only in your dreams Maxie," Alec moved closer, ready for the next round, "My turn."

He lashed out faster than she was expecting and hit her cheek. She turned with the hit and managed to only get a glancing blow, but it was still enough to leave a mark. He kept the hits coming, but she was able to block them all. He had more training at Manticore than she did, but she knew how to fight dirty which seemed to work in her favor.

She managed to kick him in the chest, forcing him back. It was the same move she'd used against him the first time they met; when he'd walked into her cell and told her he was her breeding partner. He started for her again, but at the last second he jumped up and flipped over her head. He landed behind her and grabbed both of her arms to keep her restrained.

They were both breathing hard, but Alec ignored that and pressed himself against her back. He leaned forward until his lips were next to Max's ear, her hair tickling his cheek.

"Give up Maxie," Alec whispered and he smiled when Max shivered a little.

She turned just enough so she could look him in the eyes; their lips almost touching. "Never," Max whispered back and Alec's eyes widened when he realized he was in trouble.

Max slammed her foot down on Alec's, making him instantly release her. She turned around and hit him hard in the side, which of course was the same exact spot that she'd already hit. He couldn't stop the hiss of pain or instinctively wrapping his arm protectively around his ribs.

"Good to see I'm still your punching bag," Alec ground out between clenched teeth.

"Alec, what's wrong?" Max asked in confusion; there was no way her punch should have hurt him.

"He's still recovering," Dean suddenly bit out and there was no mistake that he was pissed.

"Recovering?" Max asked with a glare at Alec and then amazement at seeing Dean standing there.

"If you would have let me explain, that might have come up," Alec said. He was stretching the truth a little since he hadn't been planning on telling her any of that.

"Alec, I'm sorry," Max said quietly.

"Should I hit you again? Cause when I try to apologize that seems to be what happens," Alec replied angrily. Someone in the room chuckled and Alec looked to see that it was Mole. He was surprised to see the lizard man since he was the one that didn't want to stick together in the first place, but he wasn't surprised to see him chewing a cigar.

Mole nodded to him and grumbled, "Good to see ya again Princess."

"Wish I could say that same to you," Alec quipped back with a smirk.

"I almost wish the rumors had been true," Mole muttered, already turning away. Alec could tell though that Mole actually cared.

"Alec," Max said to get his attention again. She looked uncomfortable and he figured she was trying to find a way to apologize again.

Before she could say anything he decided to give her an out, "Do you want to talk now? Or are you just going to start yelling at me again…" He gave her a small smile as a peace offering and she only hesitated a moment before she returned it.

Max nodded once and then said, "C'mon, we can talk in my office." Max started to the back room without waiting for anyone else.

Once Max was out of sight, the room erupted into motion. Everyone went back to whatever they had been doing before Alec had appeared back from the dead. He ignored the activity and instead looked for Sam and Dean. He didn't have to look far because they were next to him a moment later.

"You ok?" Sam asked as quietly as he could.

Alec smiled a little; Sam was trying not to let anyone hear him, but Alec knew that everyone in the room, and probably Max too, had heard him.

He nodded back and then motioned to where Max had disappeared. Sam and Dean nodded and he led the way down the hall. Max's office was just one of the old bedrooms. There was a desk piled with papers in one corner and there were two couches in the room. Alec figured they were there for when people needed to take a quick nap.

Max was already sitting on the couch that was across from the door so she was facing them when they walked in. The two couches were next to each other in the corner and made an L shape. Sam and Dean both moved to that couch and sat so there was absolutely no room for him.

Alec glared at both of them for what they were pulling, but decided not to say anything. Instead, he went over to Max's couch and lounged across it. He put his legs across Max's lap and he smiled when she immediately pushed his legs off of her and shot him a glare.

"Ok, what's going on?" Max asked in aggravation. He knew she hated being out of the loop, but he didn't know where to start. Max looked back and forth between him and Sam and Dean. Alec looked to them to start, but they both shot him pointed looks until he finally sighed in defeat.

"Where do you want me to start Max?" Alec asked.

"How about start with who these two are!" Max said like it was obvious.

"Oh, right," Alec said slightly embarrassed; he'd completely forgotten to even introduce them. "Max that's Sam and Dean…they're my brothers." They both gave her a little wave and Max tried to smile back. She took a breath to ask another question, but Alec decided to just dive right in. "Dean's my DNA donor. They found out about me the same time that TC was overrun."

"How'd you guys know about him?" Max asked. She was trying to keep her voice calm, but Alec could hear the undertones of worry. She was in charge of the transgenics now and she had to worry about how easy it was to find them.

"Our Dad had a file on him that one of our friends found. After you guys were on the news, he called us and told us where to go," Dean answered honestly. Alec was actually surprised to hear that their Dad had his file. When he'd asked Dean the first time, Dean's answer had been that they watched the news. Alec knew Dean was being sarcastic at the time, but now he'd have to remember to ask him about it.

"What happened in TC?" Max asked Alec.

"Well…I stayed away from the cops for a long time," Alec hedged.

"They said that they shot you," Max said quietly.

"They might've got a lucky shot," Alec said with a smile.

"Alec, they let a news crew in…they showed the blood…" Max said, trying to keep herself together.

Alec sat up and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She didn't shrug it off which really surprised him. Instead of making fun of her like he usually would he quickly reassured, "I'm alright Maxie. They got in a lucky shot but Sam and Dean found me before the cops got me."

He saw Sam and Dean share a look and he knew that they were thinking about actually hitting him with their car, but none of them mentioned that part.

"Then what happened?" Max asked after the silence started to stretch.

"We patched him up and asked him if he wanted to stay with us," Sam answered.

"And you did," Max said quietly. She looked like she wanted to say more, but looked around the room instead.

Sam and Dean exchanged another look and then Dean said, "We're gonna be right out there if you guys need something." He stood up and clapped Alec on the shoulder before he walked out of the room. Sam raised his eyebrows silently asking if he'd be ok and Alec nodded before he followed Dean.

"Why?" Max asked once they were alone.

Alec took a deep breath before he answered, "Max…at first it was because I didn't have anywhere to go. Everyone was supposed to go to ground and I just figured I'd never see you guys again. They asked me to stay…no one's ever asked me to do that before…" Alec paused a second before he said, "They're my family."

"Alec-"

"No Max. Name one time you actually wanted me around," Alec said seriously.

Max went completely still next to him and he could hear her breath waver. She looked down and admitted, "When I thought I'd lost you."

She looked up at him with shining eyes and reached out. He held completely still as she leaned forward so she could barely touch his cheek. He couldn't help but lean into her soft touch and closed his eyes. He gently held her other hand and brought it up to press against his chest, right over his heart. Her hand that was on his cheek moved until she was running her fingers through his hair.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She was practically on his lap, but she didn't say anything, she just pressed herself closer. He put his cheek against the top of her head and tucked her against him as he held her.

"Maxie, I'm sorry," Alec said softly. He hadn't meant to abandon her; he hadn't even known she had stayed in Seattle.

She fisted her hand in his shirt, "I didn't really handle…you can ask Mole, but anyway, I kinda lost it when I thought you were gone."

"It's ok Max, I'm alright," Alec quickly reassured.

"Your hair's shorter…" Max muttered to change the subject, uncomfortable with confessing that to him.

He laughed a little, "Yeah, it was getting too close to Sam's hair, so I had him cut it for me." He remembered worrying about who he should ask to cut his hair. He hadn't known them for very long, but his hair was starting to get too long.

His first thought had been to ask Dean; he would understand since he kept his hair short and he probably wouldn't ask him too much about it. But then again Dean was probably the one that cut Sam's hair and it was pretty obvious that he didn't do it very often. Sam, on the other hand, probably had to cut Dean's hair a lot so he had a lot of practice. That was how he ended up making his decision and now his hair was just a little shorter than when he'd first gotten out of Manticore.

"How'd you get this place all set up?" Alec asked curiously.

Max hesitated but then answered, "I stayed with OC for a while…Joshua stayed with me. I just watched the news…waited to find out if you were gonna get out. Even when they said you had died, I didn't want to believe it…I think I even got on Joshua's nerves." Max laughed a little and Alec tightened his arm around her.

"I was tired of sitting around, but I couldn't go back to work. I ended up finding this place…it was called something like Mountainside Valley," She actually laughed this time and Alec couldn't help but join her.

"How'd you get everyone back?"

"Mole was the first one to show up, believe it or not. He found out from Logan where I'd gone and then got the word out to the others. They showed up and expected me to be the leader…but I didn't want it. Mole wouldn't let it go though. He would come up to me and ask me questions until I answered. After a while I just gave up and took over."

"Looks like you've done a good job," Alec said.

Max moved her hand to wrap around his side but she accidently pressed against his ribs. He couldn't help the sharp intake of air at the surprise pain.

"Oh Alec, I'm sorry," Max said quickly and in the next second she was gone.

He was cold now where she had pressed against him. He knew her staying would be too good to last, but he couldn't help being comforted by the contact. He leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. He couldn't ignore how tired he was and now he was alone.

He startled when someone touched his side. He tried to throw a punch, but a strong, small hand caught his wrist.

"Alec, it's just me," Max soothed. She ran her hand through his hair and Alec opened his eyes. He was surprised to see how close she was to him. She moved his jacket to the side and lifted up his shirt. He hissed when she pressed a pack of ice to his side.

"Max," Alec grumbled when she kept the ice against him.

"Shut up," Max replied with a small smile. She grabbed his hand and set it on top of the ice pack. Then she moved so she could grab his legs and put them on the sofa. Max sat next to his hip and put her hand on top of his.

"You're here," Max said quietly and then blushed when she realized she had said that out loud.

Alec just smiled and then brushed Max's hair behind her ear. She looked down at where her hand was covering his and then her eyes started to wander over his side. She moved her hand off of his and trailed it over his skin. Goosebumps erupted where her fingers had just been and Alec couldn't do anything to stop them. She stopped right over the light scar of one of the bullet wounds. It already looked a few years old, instead of a few months, and with just a little more time it would be gone entirely.

"That was the lucky shot," Alec said to break the silence.

Max nodded and then trailed her fingers a little higher to where another bullet had grazed him. He didn't say anything and she only lingered there a moment before moving on to the straight, thin scar that Dean had taken the stitches out of a couple days ago. It was the scar from his surgery, but he didn't really want to explain that one to her.

"What's this one?" Max whispered. "It's newer…"

Alec shifted a little and then hedged, "You know me, I can never stay out of trouble."

Max smiled a little and then rested her hand over his heart again.

"Don't you have something you need to be doing?" Alec asked after a few minutes of silence. He didn't want her to go, but it was strange that she was still with him and was being so nice to him.

Max shook her head no and then bit her lip in indecision. Finally, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and lay down next to him. Well, she was closer to being on top of him with her head resting on his chest.

"Max…what are you doing?" Alec asked slowly in confusion.

"You look tired," was all she said in reply.

Alec figured he shouldn't question her further in case she changed her mind and he ended up wrapping one arm around her. He was very comfortable and he didn't want her to disappear on him. In no time, he felt his eyes growing heavy and it didn't help that Max's breathing was already slow and steady in sleep. He decided to give up his fight and fell asleep a minute later.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	4. Chapter 4

"C'mon, let's go see the rest of the place," Dean said after Sam closed the door behind him.

Dean's mind was spinning with everything that had happened, but he was trying to keep his cool for Alec's sake. He'd promised him that they were good with weird, but the lizard man chewing a cigar was almost too much. It was kind of a relief when Alec and Max started fighting; it gave him something else to focus on. But it also really pissed him off.

Alec had been in the hospital for three days, he'd gotten five days ago, and then he got in the middle of a fight with someone who could actually get in a few good hits. He didn't know if he should be pissed at Alec for getting in the fight in the first place or at Max for not realizing that Alec was fighting hurt.

They walked back over to the main room and Dean walked right over to the lizard guy that Alec had joked with earlier.

The guy was looking over some papers and he didn't even bother to look up when he and Sam walked over to him. "What series are you?" The lizard man grumbled around his cigar.

Dean tried his hardest not to roll his eyes, but he couldn't quite manage it and he didn't miss the look that Sam shot him. He let out a short huff and then answered, "I'm not Manticore. I'm Alec's DNA donor."

"So, you're the one I should really be complaining 'bout for bringin' Pretty Boy into existence," The lizard grumbled back.

"Guess so," Dean replied with a shrug and a smirk.

"Why're a couple of ordinaries takin' care of one of us anyways?" Lizard man asked, looking up for the first time.

"He's our brother," Dean answered honestly.

Lizard man must have decided he was ok because he dropped his papers to a desk and stuck out his hand. "Name's Mole."

Dean shook his hand without any hesitation and said, "Dean. And this is my brother Sam." Mole shook Sam's hand next and then motioned for them to follow him. He pointed out random people and said their names, but it was weird. Some of the names were kind of normal like Dix, Gem, Dalton, but others were strange like Biscuit, Dozer, Shovel, and Pig.

"You know, it's kinda nice having Pretty Boy back, cause now maybe Fearless Leader will ease up a bit," Mole said in a gruff voice.

"You mean Alec and Max," Sam corrected after a minute.

"Yeah yeah," Mole grumbled. "Anyway, she's been a nightmare to work with. Not that I didn't know that already, but it's been a lot worse since the attack."

Mole suddenly looked up and then said, "And next door is the infirmary…"

Dean was confused by this sudden change of subject until he saw Max walk into the room. She ignored everyone and went straight to the kitchen. He, Sam, and Mole all stood frozen, watching her. She went to the freezer, grabbed something, and then went back to her office.

Mole let out a small huff of relief and then continued, "Before the attack those two were always together. Running missions, stealing stuff, working together…Everyone knew he was going to be her second even though she acted like she hated him. But she learned the hard way; you don't know what you've got till it's gone."

Dean nodded; he didn't really know why Mole was telling him and Sam all of this, but he wasn't going to argue about getting an insight into Alec's past life.

They all looked up when someone burst into the room. He looked like a half dog, half man and he looked around the room until his eyes landed on Dean. He heard Mole groan just before the dog man ran over to him and said happily, "Alec!"

Dean's eyes widened when the dog man picked him up and hugged him tight. He looked to Sam for help, but Sam was just standing there, laughing at his plight. He heard the dog man sniffing him and he couldn't help but let out an aggravated, "Dude. Knock it off!"

"Joshua, put him down," Mole ordered and Dean was put back on his feet a second later.

"You're not Alec…" Joshua said in confusion. "Smell like Alec, look like Alec, but not Alec."

Mole groaned, "That's Dean and Sam. To make things easy, they're Alec's brothers."

"Alec here?" Joshua asked.

Mole rolled his eyes, "Yes, Alec's here, but he's with Max right now. You can talk to him later. Now go over there or something." Mole waved Joshua away and then turned back to Sam and Dean and grumbled, "He's my roommate. Can't stand him half the time, but he's got a good heart."

Mole led them over to a corner of the room where not much was going on. He grabbed two chairs and motion to them, "Here, you can sit here while you wait for Alec."

Dean looked over at Sam and he just shrugged back. Mole must have seen them exchange a look because he threw on a second later, "I can't spend all my time babysitting ordinaries. I've got work to do." He walked away after he said that and left Sam and Dean alone.

Sam looked to him to decide what they should do. Dean just shrugged back and sank onto one of the chairs. Sam sank down next to him and they waited. He wondered what Alec and Max could be talking about and he hoped that they would be done soon so they could do something productive. Or at the very least, not be delegated to just sitting in the corner.

OC came over after a few minutes, but Dean was annoyed to see that Logan was trailing behind her. They both grabbed some chairs and sat down across from them.

"We always get sent to the corner too, when we come to see Max," OC said after a minute.

"What are they talking about?" Logan wondered out loud, with a glance to Max's office.

Dean glanced up briefly and couldn't help saying, "Don't know, but I know it's none of our business."

Dean smirked when Logan's mouth popped open in surprise. He looked like he was trying to come up with something to say, but ended up just gaping at him like a fish. He finally closed his mouth again and kind of pouted in silence.

Dean tipped his chair back in boredom. He couldn't help it; sitting around just wasn't what he was good at.

"He's not really your brother, you know…" Logan muttered quietly after a few minutes.

"Excuse me?" Dean asked, his tone bordering on menacing.

Logan's look turned slightly smug as he said, "I mean, he was grown in a test tube. Just because he has some of your DNA, it doesn't make him your brother."

Dean clenched his jaw and fisted his hand. Sam must have seen him do that since his hand landed on his arm a second later to keep him back.

"Logan," Cindy hissed.

"I'm just saying they probably don't even know what all he's done," Logan said back. He looked over at Sam and Dean, he must have missed that both of them looked like they were about to murder him because he said, "He's killed people and he doesn't even care."

That was it for Dean; he shrugged out of Sam's hold, stood, and landed a right hook to Logan's jaw all in one smooth motion. Logan toppled out of his chair and looked up in shock. Dean grabbed him by the shirt collar and yanked him up to look him in the face. "You don't talk about my brother that way, you hear me?"

Logan nodded and Dean released him and he fell back to the floor. He stood and saw that the entire room had stopped to see what was going on.

Mole walked back over to them and clapped Dean on the shoulder, "You're not so bad for an ordinary. C'mere and I'll show you what we're working on."

Dean turned to look at Sam who couldn't keep the small smile off his face as he stood. They left Logan where he was and followed Mole over to a bank of computers.

* * *

Max startled awake to find herself clinging to Alec. Her head was resting on his chest, the steady rise and fall of his breathing was strangely comforting to her and she found she didn't really want to move.

She had thought he was dead; she'd thought that for months and now here he was. She almost couldn't believe it was true, but she had the proof right under her.

She didn't really want to admit it, but she hadn't taken it very well when the news had hit. Her and Joshua had gone straight to Original Cindy's place after Terminal City had been overrun. She had kept her phone in her hand waiting for his call and had watched the news nonstop.

The first report had been pretty low-key; the transgenics had escaped, but one was still trapped inside. Even though she'd been reassured that Alec was still alive it was still devastating to hear that he was trapped. They ran that one for a day and a half before they had anything else.

The next report was much worse since the news crew had been allowed inside. There had been so much blood on the floor and smeared across the walls that it was almost believable that the cops had killed him. The fact that he hadn't called her only made it worse. The only reason she had doubts was because the cops hadn't produced a body, and without a body, there was still a chance.

Max had wanted to go to TC to maybe pick up a trail, but OC, Joshua, and Logan had talked some sense into her. There was no way she would be able to get into TC without getting caught; the whole place was surrounded, they even had the sewers guarded.

When she didn't hear from him after a week, she decided to just stop talking. She couldn't explain it, but without him around she felt like something was missing. She knew she had treated him like crap and she was more annoyed with his help than grateful, but he was always there for her. He was someone she had actually relied on and then he was gone.

When she found Freak Valley, she didn't care if anyone else showed up; he wouldn't ever be there so what was the point. She was surprised to see Mole when he first showed up, but even he couldn't get her out of her funk.

It was just over a month ago when Mole had gotten in her face and told her to get over him.

 _"Get off your ass, stop moping, and do your job!" Mole yelled right in her face. She actually flinched back instead of hitting him like she normally would have. "You're a soldier. When we lose someone, we say goodbye and then move on."_

 _"I'm not a soldier," Max mumbled back. "And I can't just give up on him."_

 _"You didn't even like him when he was alive," Mole ground out in anger._

 _Max actually sprung up from the sofa and pushed Mole back, surprising both of them. She wanted to argue with him and deny that what he said was true, but she couldn't. She just took a step back and looked up at Mole with sad eyes._

 _"I know you're sorry for how you treated him and I know you miss him," Mole said softly; a definite difference to how he usually was. "But you can't change that now."_

 _Max felt the tears start to fall, but she didn't do anything to stop them. She felt Mole awkwardly pat her shoulder and that was enough for her to start sobbing. She buried her face in his jacket and just cried. She missed Alec and she wished she could take back how she treated him, but she couldn't._

 _Mole put his hand on Max's back and tried to comfort her while she cried. After a few minutes she finally felt like she was out of tears and took a step back. Mole kept a hand on her shoulder and said quietly, "You miss him like Hell, but this isn't how he would want you to handle things. He would want you to step up and finish what you started."_

 _She wiped her eyes and nodded. She didn't say anything and after a few more minutes Mole left. She knew he wanted her to jump into action, but instead she just sat back down._

 _Mole was probably right; Alec had helped out a lot in TC and if things hadn't happened the way they did, he would have been her Second in Command. There was no question about it._

 _She took the rest of the day to really remember him before she actually took over Freak Valley. She still thought about him every day though. She turned to look for him by her side for every new crisis that came up. The worst though, was waiting for the snarky comment that was never going to come._

She had finally accepted that he was gone and then he shows up out of nowhere. She wanted to be mad at him for never calling, for not letting her know that he was alive, but she couldn't. She was just happy that he was here, he was alive, and now she could make things right.

She shifted a little so she could get a little more comfortable and she smiled a little when Alec's arm tightened around her. She looked up at him and found that he was still asleep.

She snuggled back onto his chest, but she couldn't fall asleep again, too many thoughts were going through her head. Instead, she gently grabbed his other hand and held it in both of hers. She lightly traced the lines on his hand while she thought about the last time she'd seen him.

She had kissed him right before they were separated. It was a moment that she had thought about a lot since it had happened and one that she was surprised that Alec hadn't already teased her about. She couldn't forget how soft his lips had been or the way he had pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. The very thought had her unconsciously licking her lips…

She shook her head a little to try and get rid of the thought. She went back to focusing on Alec's hand and tracing the lines as lightly as she could. Even his hands were beautiful; they were strong and gentle at the same time. It wasn't fair that everything about him was attractive.

"Max?" Alec mumbled sleepily.

"Hey sleepyhead," Max replied with a smile.

Alec gave her a lopsided smile that just made her smile grow. "Time is it?"

Max shrugged and glanced back down at his hand. He didn't pull it from her grasp so that was reassuring. She didn't know if he had missed her or not and she didn't want to push him too far.

He just relaxed and she looked up to see that his eyes were closed again, but she could tell he wasn't asleep.

"What are Sam and Dean like?" Max blurted out suddenly without even thinking too much about it.

Alec's eyes snapped open and he looked down at her. He took a deep breath and then answered, "Well, Dean's a lot like me," he chuckled a little and Max smiled at the rumble of his chest. "We both find trouble everywhere we go, but Sam keeps us in line most of the time."

"What do you guys do? You've been gone for months…" Max trailed off, figuring Alec would fill in the rest, but he hesitated.

"Well…I've been helping them work…"

"What kind of work?"

Alec hesitated again until he finally deflected, "How 'bout we go out there and you can get to know them for yourself…"

She wanted to refuse, but Alec was already starting to push himself up. She had no choice but to sit up with him. She was practically in his lap and she was surprised to see how close together they were. If she moved forward at all their lips would be touching. She brought her hand up to his stubbled cheek and he leaned into her touch. She gave him a feather light kiss on his lips and then stood before he could either push her away or make her forget everything by kissing her back.

Max heard him sigh just a little before he stood up beside her. Even though she had been the one to break contact, as soon as he was beside her again she reached out to touch his arm. She couldn't stop herself; it was like he wasn't real unless she was touching him, so even if he gave her strange looks she wasn't going to stop.

Alec looked at her and she saw understanding in his eyes. He moved his arm out of her touch so he could put his hand on the small of her back and pull her against his side. She couldn't stop her smile from appearing as they walked out of her office and back into the main room.

A few people looked up at their return, but for the most part they went about their business. She saw Logan sitting with Original Cindy, but she was surprised to see a dark bruise covering Logan's jaw. She felt Alec tense and she looked up at him. He had seen her looking at Logan and had started to pull away from her. She grabbed his hand before he could disappear entirely and held on tightly.

Logan looked up as they walked by and Max saw his face fall when he saw her with Alec, but she ignored him.

It took her a minute to figure out that Alec was actually the one leading them around and then another minute after that to figure out that he was heading for Sam and Dean. She was surprised to see that the two brothers were sitting with Mole and the three of them were looking over some plans for the next supply run.

They all looked up when Max and Alec walked up to them.

"Finally, what were you doin' sleepin'?" Dean asked sarcastically.

Max couldn't help the light blush that colored her cheeks and she saw Alec run a hand through his hair and then rubbed the back of his neck.

Sam immediately started laughing and Dean said, "You're kidding!? You guys actually fell asleep?"

Alec nodded and Dean burst out laughing.

"Well great," Mole grumbled, "Now that you two have graced us with your presence we can get to actually planning this run."

"Oh, c'mon Mole! Laugh a little! Y'know this is funny," Dean said, still laughing.

Mole grumbled something about an annoying DNA sequence that ran in both Alec and Dean, but he turned and walked away before anyone could call him on it.

"I don't think he knows how to laugh," Alec muttered once Mole was gone.

"We'll see," Dean said back.

"It's probably a good thing you got some sleep," Sam started after a moment. "Looks like this is gonna be a big run, think you're up for it?"

Max didn't want him to go on the run, but she knew that if she kept him from going she'd never hear the end of it. The worst part was that she'd be stuck here while he was out risking his life. She wouldn't be able to relax again until he came back. Maybe she could find a reason to keep him there…

Alec nodded and reached to grab a paper from Sam. "You guys really want to help out?" Alec asked as he scanned the paper in his hand.

"Hell yeah!" Dean said with a cocky smile. "This is gonna be fun!"

"Alright, what's the plan?" Alec asked with a smile.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry for the delay. This is a pretty long chapter, so I hope you guys like it._

* * *

Sam crossed his arms over his chest; it was a good plan, but it was still risky. Dean and Alec were both hunched over a set of blueprints while Sam stood over them so he could see. They had no problem getting into the warehouse; it was getting out with all of the food that was the problem.

"Alec, there's gonna be guards patrolling," Dean tried to reason again. He and Alec had been going back and forth on this problem for a while now. Max had stuck around for a little, but she had to take care of some other business within Freak Valley.

"I told you, we'll take out the guards," Alec replied back.

Dean sighed, "Fine. But how are we going to get the food back here?"

"Mole said there are trucks inside. We steal one, load it up, and bring it back," Alec said.

Dean pushed off from the table and walked a short distance and then came back. "They're gonna notice a truck's missing. Then they'll know what to look for and a big truck's not a good getaway vehicle."

"So, we'll be really sneaky," Alec said with a cocky smile. It was the same cocky smile that Dean had given him countless times and it was funny to see him get a taste of his own medicine. Dean's jaw clenched in reply and Sam couldn't stop the small smile from crossing his face.

Mole walked back over to them before Dean and Alec could argue any more. "Got a plan for getting out?" Mole asked gruffly.

"Steal a truck and bring it back," Alec replied before Dean could say anything.

"And if that doesn't work?" Mole asked, chewing his cigar a little more.

"Grab what we can and head for the sewers," Alec answered reluctantly, but his answer had both Sam and Dean looking up in surprise.

Mole thought about it for a minute and then finally nodded, "At least it's not complicated. Do you know Dozer, Tank, Zip, and Ryan?"

"I knew Dozer and Ryan back at Manticore, we went on a couple of missions, and I know Tank from TC, but I don't know Zip," Alec answered.

"We found Zip after TC was overrun so I'm not surprised that you don't know him. But that's your team."

Alec frowned and looked over at Sam and Dean. Sam wasn't sure why he looked unhappy, but Mole must have known because he spoke again before Alec could, "I'm sorry kid, but I can't let them go. It's too dangerous and I don't know how they are in the field."

Dean tensed and when Sam looked back to Alec his face was completely blank. It took him just a second to figure out that he and Dean weren't going.

"We're going," Sam started slowly.

Mole shook his head, "I can't let you go. You don't have the training and I can't have the team worrying about you. It's nothin' against you; I just can't take the risk."

Sam wanted to argue and one look at Dean told him that Dean was barely able to bite his tongue. But Sam could see Mole's point; Alec would be distracted and Mole had no idea what all they had been up against.

"Mole, give us a minute," Alec finally said and Mole nodded and walked away. Alec ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck in what Sam was starting to figure out as his nervous tell. "Guys…"

"Alec, we can sit this one out," Sam said to try and ease some of Alec's nerves. He knew Alec didn't want them to sit out, but it wasn't technically his call. Dean shot him an incredulous look, but Sam shot him one back telling him to back off.

"I want you guys to go…" Alec said quietly.

"We know, but we'll just make it easy this time," Sam promised.

Alec nodded and looked over to Dean who still hadn't said anything. But Dean couldn't ignore his responsibility as a big brother once Alec looked his way. He grudgingly nodded but then said, "But you're coming back in once piece or else I'm gonna kick your ass."

Alec broke into a smile and Dean messed up his hair. Alec pushed him back and quickly fixed his hair. He looked around the room and Sam followed his gaze until he saw Max. She was looking right at Alec and she was giving him a small smile. He smiled sheepishly and then turned his gaze back to Sam and Dean.

"Alright kiddo, if you're gonna do this, I gotta meet your team," Dean said seriously and Sam couldn't agree more. He wasn't about to let his little brother go on a dangerous supply run without meeting the group that he had to rely on.

Alec raised his eyebrows, "Y'know, you two have gotten even worse with the Mother Henning since you found me. I thought it would wear off, but boy was I wrong."

Dean smiled and then pushed Alec's shoulder, "Shut up and get your ass in gear."

Alec gave him a mock solute and teased, "Yes sir," before he started for the other side of the room.

They came up to two guys who were as tall as Sam and twice his size. They were definitely the muscle and Sam was already starting to feel a little better knowing that they would have Alec's back.

"Hey, how's it goin'?" Alec asked casually as they walked up.

The two men instantly stood at attention, but Alec waved them off and they relaxed. He shook both their hands and then introduced Sam and Dean.

"This is Sam and Dean and that's Tank and Dozer, they're kinda like extreme bodyguards," Alec explained with a smile. Tank had light hair that he wore in a military haircut and had dark, observant eyes while Dozer had darker hair that was slightly longer and what looked like laugh lines around his eyes.

"I like that," Dozer said with a smile, "extreme bodyguards sounds way cooler than the glorified muscle."

"Sounds like we have a real job for once," Tank agreed.

"So, you're going by Alec now?" Dozer asked after a moment.

Alec nodded and then said for Sam and Dean, "I only ever knew Dozer at Manticore so we know each other by our designations."

"I was lucky to only work with you once though," Dozer teased. "I'm not so lucky anymore."

Alec laughed, but then looked confused, "How'd you land this detail anyway? Both of you?"

Dozer and Tank looked down uncomfortably, but Tank gave in after a moment and answered, "You can't get mad and you can't tell Max that we told you…"

"Ok," Alec said slowly.

"Max assigned us…we're still technically on bodyguard duty…" Tank said hesitantly.

Alec groaned, "You're kidding right? She's sending you to protect me?!"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic! It's just like the old days for me, guardin' your ass," Dozer said in amusement.

"Yeah, we're happy to do it," Tank said sincerely. "Max didn't even need to assign us, we would've been happy to volunteer."

"Well, we're happier that you two will be around," Dean threw in. "Alec's a trouble magnet."

"Comin' from you? That's hilarious Dean," Alec deadpanned.

"Either way, we're going with you," Dozer said, suddenly very no-nonsense.

"Couldn't change your mind back in the day either," Alec muttered.

"That's right, so don't even bother," Dozer said. "Just let us know when you're ready." Dozer clapped Alec on the back and then went back to looking over the layout. Sam, Dean, and Alec all walked away to go find the other two on Alec's team.

"I feel a little better…" Dean muttered after a moment.

"Yeah, I'm likin' Max a little more too…" Sam said quietly. Alec looked back at him in surprise so Sam continued "She didn't get a great start in my book with the whole kickin' your ass thing…"

Alec rolled his eyes and then kept walking.

"You know, you never told us Max was hot," Dean said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, the bossiness kinda cancels it out sometimes," Alec mumbled as they walked up to two guys. One was about Alec's age and about Alec's size, he was cleaning a gun and he looked up when the three of them came over. The other looked younger than Alec and was more wiry and had shaggy hair, but he was lounging in an office chair with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"Hey man," The guy with the gun said as they walked up. "It's been a long time." He stood and shook Alec's hand.

"Too long," Alec said with a smile and then turned to Sam and Dean, "These are my brothers, Sam and Dean, and this is Ryan."

"Brothers?" Ryan asked. Alec nodded and shrugged and Ryan nodded back in acceptance and shook both Sam and Dean's hands. He turned and hit the guy with his eyes closed on the head and the guy woke with a start and almost fell out of the chair. "Zip, wake up. Alec wants to meet you."

Zip looked around for a second until his eyes landed on the three of them. He rose and almost stood at attention until Ryan waved him off.

"Zip, that's Alec, Sam, and Dean. Guys, this is Zip, the fastest son of a bitch I've ever met. Saved my ass more than once at Manticore," Ryan said proudly.

Zip gave them a tight smile and nodded his hello.

"You guys ready to do this?" Alec asked after a minute.

"We're not going anywhere until you say bye to Max. I don't want her kicking my ass anytime soon," Ryan said seriously.

Alec groaned, but Dean grabbed his shirt sleeve and started dragging him over to where Max was. "C'mon, the sooner you say bye to your girlfriend, the sooner you can get back and 'sleep' some more…" Dean raised his eyebrows suggestively and Alec pushed him away.

Sam and Dean hung back while Alec walked right up to Max. They stayed close enough that they could hear them, but far enough back so it seemed like they had some privacy. After their first encounter, Sam and Dean were both cautious with leaving Alec and Max alone.

"What's with the bodyguards?" Alec asked, only barely covering up his annoyance.

"If you want an apology, I'm not going to give you one," Max replied without looking up from the papers in her hand.

"I don't need babysitters," Alec growled.

"It's just a precaution," Max sighed, finally looking up at him.

"Then why can't Sam and Dean come? They've had my back for months now," Alec said with an edge to his voice.

"They weren't trained like we were, it's too dangerous for them," Max replied softly.

"They had their own training," Alec argued. "They can help."

"They're not going. End of discussion," Max said. She turned and Alec stood there for just a second before he walked back over to Sam and Dean. Sam saw Max turn back and look at Alec's retreating back with regret, but Alec didn't see it.

"That was goodbye enough for me," Alec muttered as he walked by. "I'll see you guys when I get back."

"Alec," Sam called out to stop him. He turned and waited for Sam to say what he wanted. "Be careful ok?"

Alec looked off to the side and then back and he finally nodded. He turned again and called out to his team. Sam and Dean watched from a distance as Alec geared up. It was harder than Sam thought it would be to watch Alec walk away.

They'd only known him for a few months, but he was family and they wanted to keep him safe. Seeing him with people who were like him and had gone through the same thing as him was almost too painful. What if he wanted to stay, with his own kind and with Max? What if he didn't want to leave with them when they had another hunt?

Sam was just about to run after him, but Dean startled him by pushing past him and running after Alec and his team.

"Dozer!" Dean called out. The whole team stopped and turned, but Dozer took a few steps towards Dean. Dozer leaned in, but Sam couldn't hear anything that was said. The conversation was short, Dozer nodded once after Dean was finished and rejoined the team.

"What was that about?" Sam asked once Dean was back at his side.

"Nothin'," Dean answered casually. Sam wanted to question him further, but Dean clapped him on the shoulder, "C'mon, we're stickin' close to Max."

"Why?"

"Cause she's gonna know what's going on before anyone else. There's no way Alec's going out there without some form of communication," Dean said with a smirk. Sam couldn't argue with that, so he shot him a small smile and followed him to where the others were already starting to gather.

* * *

Alec piled into the truck with the rest of his team. There were too many emotions going on in his head right now. He was mad at Max for thinking he needed bodyguards, he was mad at her for benching Sam and Dean, but at the same time he couldn't ignore that it made him secretly happy that she wanted to keep him safe and he was actually really grateful that Sam and Dean would definitely be kept safe.

He shook his head a little to get rid of all his thoughts; he needed to focus on the mission right now and nothing else. His team was depending on him and he really didn't want to mess this up.

"Hey, enough thinking," Ryan said nudging him and teased, "It's not a good look for you."

Alec chuckled and nodded. Even his team knew he was distracted. "Where'd we get this intel anyway?" Alec asked after a minute. The warehouse was well stocked, it had trucks and guards, if they managed to pull this off then Freak Valley would be supplied for a few weeks. Which was pretty good since there were over a hundred transgenics in Freak Valley and they had to do supply runs every day.

"Logan actually brought it to us. That's what he had to talk to Max about," Ryan answered. "Apparently one of his contacts tipped him off."

"Is Logan here a lot?" Alec asked, trying to sound casual. He didn't want it to sound like he really cared if Logan was around or not, but he couldn't ignore that he didn't like Logan hanging out with Max.

"Some," Ryan said slowly. "He always wants to talk to Max, but she's busy and there's still the virus and everything…"

Alec nodded in reply.

"She hasn't been herself without you," Tank suddenly said.

"She just felt guilty that I stayed behind. Now that she knows I'm ok she'll be back to normal," Alec replied.

"If you say so," Tank said, but his tone clearly said that he didn't believe that.

"We're getting close," Dozer called out from the front.

"Copy that," Ryan said with a smile.

They all shifted around to get ready. Each of them had semi-automatic weapons and an earpiece and a microphone to keep in contact with each other and with command. Alec felt the calm wash over him that always came before an op started. It was almost comforting to get back into the swing of things.

Ryan held up a hand to hold him back as the truck came to a stop. All this overprotectiveness was really starting to piss him off; he wasn't a child, he was a trained soldier who could take care of himself.

Ryan ignored his huff of annoyance and moved forward to take a peek outside. Once Ryan had decided it was safe for him to exit he hopped out of the truck and Alec followed him. They were completely silent as they made their way into the building undetected.

It was fairly easy to find the supplies, but it was almost too easy to get to them and start loading them in the truck.

The hairs on the back of Alec's neck suddenly stood up. He handed the package of noodles off to Zip and brought his gun up and started to scan the area. He could hear the rest of the team's low breathing and their quiet movement as they loaded the truck, but there was nothing unusual about that. There was no other movement, but the feeling wouldn't go away. It was quiet, but he knew they were being watched.

Alec took a step to the side so he could bump into the closest person to him. With one touch he knew it was Dozer next to him and he'd gotten his attention. He didn't have to say anything; Dozer knew just by his stance that something was up.

Alec signaled for Dozer to keep eyes on the other side of the truck, but Dozer immediately shook his head no to refuse. Alec shot him a glare, but Dozer was firm and didn't move. Alec clenched his jaw and had to think fast to come up with what to do next.

Since Dozer wasn't going to leave his side at least he would have backup when he found whoever was watching them.

Dozer must have realized that he was going to go looking for the trouble because a second later he latched onto Alec's arm and let out a low whistle to alert the others.

"Alec, what is it?" Ryan's voice whispered in his ear from the com link.

"Just a feeling," Alec answered quietly, barely moving his lips. "Keep loading the truck."

"Negative," Ryan immediately replied.

"Load the truck. Sooner we get out of here the better," Alec replied with no room for argument. "Understood?"

"Copy," Ryan said back, slightly aggravated.

Alec ignored him and moved slightly out into the open with Dozer at his back. There was still no movement and for just a second Alec considered that he might be the one overreacting. But before he even knew what he was doing, he gave in to his reflexes and dropped and rolled to the floor. A shot rang out through the warehouse and hit the truck where he'd been just a second before.

Dozer grabbed his shirt collar and drug him back behind the cover of the truck. He quickly shrugged Dozer off and peeked out behind the truck with his gun aimed in the direction the shot had come from.

"Alec?!" Ryan called out through the com again, his worry clear in his voice.

"I'm fine. You guys ok?"

"Yeah. Where'd the shot come from?"

"Upper left, but I don't see the target," Alec answered.

"Two targets coming from the right," Tanks voice suddenly chimed in.

"Two more from the front," Zip said quietly.

"Shit. Two from the back," Ryan said.

Alec focused back where the first shot had come from and saw two men appear. "Two from the left."

"Command this is Dozer…we've got a situation."

* * *

Dean paced. He hated waiting. He hated waiting especially when someone he cared about was in trouble and he couldn't do anything about it.

Sam had tried a few times to get him to sit down and he had for a minute, but then he was back on his feet and pacing. He knew Sam wasn't doing much better; he was fidgeting and his leg was bouncing nonstop.

Any other time he might have laughed at how insane they were acting. Alec was a trained soldier; he could handle himself in one little supply run. But still Dean hated the fact that Alec was out there while he was stuck here.

"The team's inside," Mole announced to the group that was waiting around the computers. There were only a few headsets, but Mole had been keeping them all updated since Alec and his team had left. Even though Max was the leader, Mole hadn't let her have one of the headsets. Dean thought it was because she could talk to the team if she had a headset and that really wouldn't help anyone.

It was quiet throughout the room; they were all waiting for the next update. Everyone seemed uneasy about this supply run and people were feeding their own fears into each other making everything worse. But there was no panic; everyone remained calm and quiet as they waited for news.

Everyone except for him.

He paced back and forth; unable to calm the fears that were racing through his head.

It was fifteen more minutes before they heard anything else from Mole. He spoke quietly, but everyone in the room still heard him. "A shot's been fired."

Dean froze.

Questions flew after Mole said that, but he instantly stopped them when he raised his hand.

"This is command. Report," Mole said after the room went quiet. He shook his head at Max to say that he didn't get a reply.

Dean noticed after a second that Sam was standing at his side. He'd been so focused on what Mole was saying that he hadn't noticed Sam getting up.

Mole suddenly looked more alert and said, "Copy that. How many?" Mole looked back at Max, but Dean and Sam had moved close enough so they could hear, "Their surrounded. Eight at least. They're not ordinaries."

"What are they?" Max asked, even though it sounded like she already knew.

"Familiars," Mole answered.

"What the Hell are familiars?" Dean asked; he couldn't hold off any longer.

"A cult that's determined to kill all of us," Max answered and Dean noticed she looked a little green.

"But they're not ordinaries, so that means they can actually do some damage right?" Sam asked.

Max shot him a surprised look, like she couldn't believe he'd gotten that. "Yeah. They don't feel pain and they're just as strong and as fast as us."

"They've engaged," Mole suddenly said, bringing them all back to what was going on.

"What's happening?" Max quickly asked.

"There's too much chatter. It's hard to follow," Mole answered.

"Is anyone hurt?" Max asked, almost breathless.

"I can't tell," Mole said honestly.

Dean was just about to bolt to go help Alec, but Sam caught his arm. "We can't do anything but wait."

"I hate waiting," Dean growled.

"I know, but he's gonna be ok," Sam said softly.

"How do you know?" Dean suddenly asked. He couldn't help it; he needed to be reassured that Alec would be ok.

"Because, he's gonna do whatever it takes to get back here," Sam answered and Dean trusted him. Alec would make it back to them.

* * *

"We're taking heavy fire," Alec tried to answer as he peeked out from his cover to fire three shots. One connected with one of the guy's knees and brought him down. But the guy was back on his feet just a moment later.

"Is there a way out? Is anyone injured?" Mole asked him again.

"Dammit Mole I don't know!" Alec yelled back. Dozer was firing next to him making it hard to hear. The two of them had found cover on the opposite side of the warehouse from the rest of their team.

Alec made a move to run out of their cover to either draw the fire or help the others or anything but hide in their corner. But Dozer stopped him before he even got to his feet.

"Don't even think about it," Dozer ordered.

"Alec, Tank's down," Ryan suddenly said in his com.

"How many are left?" Alec asked.

"Five."

"Alright, get ready."

"What're you thinking?" Ryan asked, his uncertainty clear.

"Just be ready and make sure Zip's ready too." Alec turned to Dozer to finally lay down the law. "Dude, I know you're supposed to protect me and all, but I've got a plan and you can either help me with it or I can knock you out and do it without you."

Dozer clenched his jaw but then finally relented, "Fine, but if you get hurt, you're taking the blame."

"You're that scared of Max?" Alec asked with a smirk.

"Let's just say she's not the only one I'm worried about," Dozer replied.

Alec looked at him in confusion, but let it go for now.

"How bad is Tank?" Alec asked.

"I'm fine," Tank suddenly grumbled back, but his voice sounded weak.

"Shot in the left side of the chest," Ryan replied.

"Alright, when I move, get him to the truck. Zip, you cover them," Alec commanded. He was in full soldier mode; they were all going to get out of this alive.

"What are you going to do?" Ryan asked.

"Don't worry, I've got Dozer with me," Alec hedged.

"Alec," Ryan warned.

"We'll be fine. Get Tank to the truck," Alec ordered. He turned to Dozer and asked, "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Dozer said slowly.

Alec shot him a cocky smile and then started moving. He moved fast to avoid the bullets that immediately started flying. He went straight for the guy that he'd shot in the knee earlier. The guy had his back turned, but he must have sensed Alec coming because he turned around at the last second.

Alec lashed out and hit the guy in the side of the face. Alec didn't wait before he kicked the knee that had been shot and the guy collapsed to the floor.

"Alec!" Dozer called out.

Alec turned just in time to only get hit in the arm by the bullet instead of the in the chest. He ignored the burning in his arm and turned his gun on the guy that just shot him, but he took cover before Alec could get the shot off.

Alec looked around and saw Ryan supporting Tank to the truck. Zip was covering them, but he had to fight hand to hand against one of the guys a minute later.

Dozer was fighting off another one, but two more were starting for the truck. Alec blurred over to intercept them. He took them by surprise, but they had the advantage in this fight. Alec managed to disarm them, but they could see the blood coming from his arm and he couldn't protect his arm and keep them both off.

He took a hard hit to his injury that had him dropping his guard for just a second, but it was enough. One of the guys pulled out one of those electric sticks that had taken him down outside of Crash over a year ago.

The first shock had him on his knees. Something was screeching in his ear; loud enough that he tried to bring his hand up to stop the noise. It was so loud, but it was only on one side. He felt his eardrum burst in his right ear and finally figured out that it was the earpiece that was going off. He immediately yanked it out of his ear, but then another shock had him curling over to try and protect himself.

There were too many shocks; he felt his muscles seizing up, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. His vision was starting to go black. If only they hadn't had those stupid electric things, he would have been fine.

He had one last burst that took the two men by surprise. He shot out and hit one in the temple, instantly dropping him. He slammed his elbow into the other guy's knee and he heard a satisfying crack before he too fell to the ground.

Alec slumped back to the ground. His vision was almost completely dark, but he fought off unconsciousness. He had to make sure everyone was ok before he passed out.

He rolled his head to the side and saw that Zip was down and Ryan was fighting off the guy that Zip had been fighting.

Alec lost his fight with consciousness before he saw whether or not Ryan won his fight.

* * *

"Mole, talk to me! What's going on?" Max asked desperately.

"I don't know! Alec doesn't know," Mole replied in aggravation.

"But he's alive?" Max asked.

"He's taken cover with Dozer, but they're gonna have to move out," Mole answered.

"Tank's hit," Dix said, he was also trying to decipher all the chatter over the line.

"Dammit," Mole muttered.

"What?" Max asked.

"Alec's gonna do something stupid," Mole said.

"There's too much going on to tell what's happening," Dix said.

It was quiet in command for a minute and then everyone with a headset on yelled out and threw the headsets to the desk.

"What!?" Max asked in concern.

"One of their coms just went out," Mole answered.

"Get 'em back online!" Max shouted.

"We're trying," Mole said patiently.

It was another few minutes before they heard anything from the team.

"Ryan!" Mole said in surprise. "Report?" He listened for a moment and then turned to the room. "No casualties." Everyone in the room visibly relaxed and then he continued, "Three injured, but they've got the supplies."

* * *

"Dozer?"

"Just keep driving. Tank's stable, Zip and Alec are still out."

"Try to get Zip and Alec awake."

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"Max is going to kill us…"

"I'm more worried about Dean. First time I've ever been threatened by an ordinary before…"

"What'd he say to you?"

"Said if anything happened to Alec he'd kick my ass."

"And you think an ordinary can take you?"

Dozer laughed, "No, of course not. But he's definitely got the guts to follow through."

The voices were muffled and Alec was a little confused as to what was going on. He knew he was in a truck and he knew his team was in the truck. That was about it.

"Alec, we would really feel better if you woke up right about now…" Alec could hear that Dozer was closer to him now, but he could only hear him from one side. "Should I slap him?"

Ryan burst out a laugh, "I don't think it'll help. Besides, you don't want to explain where the hand shaped bruise came from."

"Good point."

They suddenly hit a huge bump and Alec bounced up from the floor of the truck and then slammed back down. He groaned in pain and tried to curl in on himself.

"Hey, c'mon Alec, try to relax," Dozer said quietly. "Tensing up is just going to make it worse."

"At least he's awake…" Ryan grumbled from the front.

"Where'd you learn to drive?" Alec asked, his voice rough.

"The same place you learned how to fight," Ryan threw back with a smile.

"Shut up," Alec replied as he tried to push himself up. He wasn't surprised when Dozer's hands were there helping him. He leaned back against the side of the truck and took a quick stock; his head was pounding, his arm was throbbing, and every muscle in his body was protesting. So, all in all, not terrible considering.

"How're Zip and Tank?" Alec asked.

"They'll live," Dozer replied and then he kind of smirked and said, "Unlike me, who's gonna be killed because I listened to you…again."

"Sorry about that," Alec said with a weak smile.

"Y'know, if you didn't already look like crap, I'd kick your ass," Dozer teased.

"You're all heart," Alec mumbled, his eyes starting to slip closed.

Dozer tapped his cheek repeatedly until Alec opened his eyes again. "Oh no, you don't get off that easy."

"Just a few more minutes," Ryan called out.

Alec considered asking if they could circle the block one more time before they made it back, but he knew Tank and Zip were injured and he wanted to get them to help.

"Help me up," Alec said to Dozer.

Dozer immediately shook his head no, "You better just relax. You won't be standing for long if I helped you up anyway."

Alec tried to glare at him, but even he knew it was pretty pathetic.

"I hate those electric things," Alec mumbled as the truck slowed down.

"Me too," Dozer said.

After a few more minutes Dozer reached out and pulled Alec to his feet. Even with Dozer's support Alec swayed and had to close his eyes to keep from throwing up. The truck stopped and Alec tried not to lean on Dozer too much, but it was either that or land on the floor.

The doors to the truck were thrown open and Alec braced himself.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	6. Chapter 6

Alec brought his hand up to shield his eyes from the sudden light. Dozer helped him to the edge, but then Sam and Dean were there. Alec felt his chest loosen just at the sight of them and he allowed both of them to help him down. He couldn't tell if they were pissed at seeing him hurt or relieved that he'd made it back. It was probably the latter one, but he wouldn't know until they spoke.

Sam and Dean both released him, knowing how he usually complained about that kind of thing, but his legs couldn't hold him. Dean caught him, but he wasn't looking at him. Instead he was looking around at the crowd until he spotted whoever he was looking for.

"Mole!" Dean instantly got the lizard man's attention, "Where'd you say the infirmary was?"

"I'm alright…" Alec muttered.

Dean ignored him and waited for Mole's reply. He pulled Alec's arm over his shoulder and wrapped his own arm around his waist. Alec hated to admit it, but just Sam and Dean's support was making him feel better.

"Follow us," Mole said and then looked between the three of them. "You need a stretcher?"

"We've got him," Dean answered and then took a minute to look Alec over. "I'm gonna kill Dozer."

"Dean," Alec sighed. He knew he probably looked terrible; he was pale and covered in blood, not to mention the part where he needed help standing. But it wasn't Dozer's fault, it was his own.

"I told him it would be on him if anything happened to you," Dean raised his eyebrows to indicate that something had definitely happened.

"It wasn't his fault," Alec defended, implying that it was actually his fault.

"I'd kick your ass, but someone already beat me to it," Dean said in aggravation. Alec sighed again even though he knew Dean was just worried.

"C'mon, let's get you checked out," Sam said softly. They started to move slowly in the direction that Mole had disappeared. His legs still felt like jelly, but he was kind of going slow on purpose. Once he got to the infirmary people would swarm him. He didn't want to say anything, but time with just his brothers was really special to him.

"So, you wanna tell us what happened?" Dean asked after a few slow and unsteady steps.

"Not really," Alec muttered with his gaze on the ground.

"Too bad," Dean growled. "Now spill."

"Dean," Sam warned. Alec watched them exchange a look over his head and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. They were always doing that; communicating without actually saying anything. It was annoying because he didn't always know what they were saying; he didn't quite speak their language yet.

Sam and Dean glared at each other until Dean finally caved. "Alright, I'm sorry Alec. Will you please tell us what happened and how injured you are?"

Alec snickered at Dean's apology, but decided he should probably tell them since they had agreed to sit out. "It was an ambush…"

"Looks like Logan's on my list too," Dean said.

Alec just shrugged, "He probably didn't know."

"Still." Dean replied.

"Dean, let Alec talk," Sam said with a small smile.

Dean glanced over at Sam but didn't say anything.

"We got separated and Tank was hurt, but there were only five of them left by the time I left cover," Alec said that part kind of fast, hoping that Sam and Dean would just let it go.

"Five?" They both asked at the same time. Of course they wouldn't let that go.

"There were eight to begin with!" Alec quickly defended. Dean's hand tightened around him and Sam's jaw clenched, but neither of them said anything so Alec decided to just get one part over with. "I kinda got hit…"

Sam and Dean instantly stopped just like he knew they would. He saved them the trouble of looking him over again and pointed to the hole in his jacket. Dean gently moved his jacket down his arm and then shifted his t-shirt sleeve up.

Dean took a minute to examine his arm and then finally looked up, "Bullet went straight through, but I don't know if it hit your bone or not…"

Alec shrugged with his good arm, "I'm sure it's fine."

"What else happened?" Sam asked after a minute. Dean started to help him back into his jacket, but then thought better of it and took his jacket completely off and draped it over his own arm. He returned back to Alec's good side and they started to walk again.

"Well, two of them went after the truck. I didn't have any problem disarming them, but then they hit my arm. They have these electrical stick things…kinda like an extreme Taser-" Sam and Dean both froze and Alec stumbled to a stop.

"What?" Sam asked breathlessly.

"Just an extreme Taser…It just sucks cause it actually takes us down pretty easily. That's why I'm really shaky…my muscles are like jelly…" Sam and Dean both looked like they were going to throw up. "Guys, what's wrong?" Alec didn't want to panic, but something was clearly wrong.

Sam reached out and put two fingers to Alec's neck to check his pulse. Alec raised his eyebrows wondering what he was doing, but he didn't say anything.

"Pulse is good," Sam said to Dean and then looked Alec in the eyes. "How do you feel?"

"I feel alright…" Alec said hesitantly. Sam brought his finger up and moved it back it forth so Alec would follow it with his eyes. He had no problem doing that so Sam dropped his hand to his side.

"Do you feel like you can't catch your breath?" Dean asked, his face completely serious.

"No, I can breathe fine…" Alec answered; still unsure what was going on.

"What about temperature-wise? Are you cold? Let me see your hands," Dean said. He didn't wait for Alec's reply before he grabbed his left hand in his own.

"I'm not cold," Alec said slowly. Dean still checked both his hands and even felt his forearms before he released him and nodded to Sam.

Alec looked back and forth in confusion. "What's going on? I feel ok…I'm sore and my arm hurts. And ok, I still can't hear out of my right ear, but that'll go away soon I think…but I'm fine. You guys are acting like I'm at deaths door." Both of them flinched when he said that and then looked at each other.

"About two years ago we were hunting a rawhead," Dean started quietly. "I used a Taser to kill the thing, but I didn't realize that we were both standing in water. I got electrocuted and the doctor said I only had a few weeks to live."

"But you're alright…right?!" Alec immediately asked in concern. He didn't think anything was wrong with Dean, but if there was, he didn't know why they weren't at a hospital right now. He didn't know if he could handle it if Sam or Dean died.

"I'm alright," Dean quickly reassured. "We went to a faith healer…" Dean looked to Sam, but Sam looked down guiltily.

"He was the real deal?" Alec asked, even though it was pretty obvious now that the guy had managed to heal Dean.

"Well not exactly…" Dean hedged.

"His wife had a reaper tied to him to cure people, but when he cured one person another one had to take their place," Sam said quietly.

"But we didn't know that before we went there," Dean quickly defended Sam.

"Dean, I should have known something was going on," Sam said.

"Sam, its ok," Dean quickly reassured. Sam just nodded, but refused to look at either of them and Alec really didn't know what to say. "You're really ok?" Dean asked after a minute.

"Yeah, I'm good," Alec answered honestly.

"Alright…c'mon, let's get ya cleaned up some," Dean finally said and they started walking again.

* * *

Alec was nearly out on his feet by the time they found the infirmary. Dean had been pretty sure where to go, but they had lost Mole and all the houses looked the same. They'd circled the place more than once. When they were talking they hadn't noticed where they were going and then they got lost.

"Alright kiddo, we're almost there," Dean reassured quietly, taking on more of Alec's weight.

"I think I need a nap," Alec mumbled back and Dean smiled a little at how sleepy he sounded.

"I know, we're gonna find you a place to lie down," Dean replied.

"Thanks Dean…" Alec mumbled. "'M sorry I got hurt…"

"It's ok, it wasn't your fault," Dean said. "Sam, can you get the door?"

Sam ran ahead and held the door open for them. People started to swarm them as soon as they walked inside, but with one look at Sam and Dean they backed off.

"You guys get lost?" Mole asked as soon as he saw them.

Dean ignored him and asked instead, "Where do you want us?"

Mole actually smirked and then pointed them to an open bed. Dean led Alec over to the bed and helped him sit down while Sam followed them and then sat next to Alec on the bed. Dean looked around the room to see if he could pick out whoever the doctor might be. He saw a group of people around one bed, a few more beds had people laying on them, but Dean didn't see any doctor types.

Instead of moving away from Alec to look for the doctor, Dean decided to just sit next to Alec too. It had been a stressful few hours, but now Alec was back with them and Dean could almost relax. Almost.

Alec was still hurt and Dean was not going to let his guard down. No one was going to get by him unless he said so. Not only that, but he now had to set a few things straight with these transgenics.

Dean was pulled from his thoughts when Alec suddenly leaned into him with his head landing against Dean's shoulder. Dean looked down to see that Alec's eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and even in sleep.

"You think we should lay him down?" Dean worriedly breathed out.

Sam gave him a small smile and shook his head, "No, I think we should leave him how he is."

Dean tried to relax so he wouldn't wake Alec up. He couldn't help but feel kind of special that Alec was using him as a pillow. He didn't want to mess it up by moving or being so tense he wasn't even comfortable. He saw Max from across the room, but her eyes were glued to Alec. She looked like she wanted to come over there, but after a minute she turned and walked away.

"I forget how young he is," Sam said quietly.

Dean nodded in agreement but he didn't want to risk anything by speaking.

"Y'know, I kinda wish he wasn't like you in this one aspect…" Sam said. Dean shot him a look of confusion so Sam explained, "You and him both play the hero and I have to be the one to watch as you put yourselves back together. I just wish you both would take better care of yourselves."

"Sam…" Dean whispered.

"Dean, you don't have to say anything. I just want you to think about what would happen to me and Alec if something happened to you. We wouldn't be able to just move on if something happened to you. You're our brother and we need you with us."

"Works both ways Sam," Dean breathed out.

Sam nodded and it was quiet for a minute until he said, "You know we're gonna have to give Alec this same exact talk right?"

Dean smiled and tried not to laugh, "I know…"

It was over an hour and a half before anyone walked over to them. He was a short man, but he smiled at them as he got closer. He was wearing normal clothes, but he had a stethoscope around his neck and Dean assumed he was the doctor.

"Hi, I'm Ray," He whispered to Sam and Dean.

"Dean. And that's Sam and Alec," Dean replied back quietly.

"How long's he been asleep?" Ray asked.

"Almost two hours," Dean answered.

Ray thought for a minute and then asked, "Do you know what injuries he has?"

"Gunshot in the left arm that went straight through, he got hit with something that he called an extreme Taser, and he said he couldn't hear out of his right ear," Dean listed off.

"I'd really rather not wake him up…" Ray said slowly, "…but, I need to clean out the gunshot wound."

Dean nodded in understanding and then put his hand against Alec's chest. "Hey kiddo, I need you to wake up." Alec didn't move so Dean lightly hit his chest and said a little louder, "Alec, c'mon, time to wake up."

Alec's eyes closed tighter and his eyebrows drew together before he mumbled a sleepy, "What?"

He didn't make any move to actually get up or even open his eyes. Dean sighed a little and said, "The Doc wants to look you over."

"You already looked me over…'m fine…" Alec mumbled.

"Alright, the Doc wants to patch up your arm. I haven't done that yet, so you need to wake up," Dean argued.

"'M fine…" Alec mumbled again.

"You never were very good at this part," Sam said with a smile.

"I hate this part," Dean grumbled and then looked at Ray, "How 'bout a few more minutes?"

Ray raised his eyebrows and smiled a little, but he didn't tell Dean what to do. Dean frowned and looked to Sam for help. Sam was right, he was no good at waking up his brothers when they really needed sleep or were injured and didn't want to get up.

"Alec, c'mon, if you wake up and let the doctor patch you up we'll find you a real bed and let you sleep for as long as you want," Sam bargained. When Alec still didn't move Sam tried again, "Y'know…Me and Dean would feel a lot better if you got patched up…"

Alec finally opened his eyes. Dean looked over Alec's head and mouthed 'cheater' to Sam before Alec sat up.

"Who're you?" Alec muttered to Ray as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Ray. I'm X5, but I worked in medical at Manticore. Unfortunately, I'm the most qualified as a doctor around here," Ray answered.

"Wait, you're not even a doctor?" Dean asked. Usually they just patched each other up, but he thought for sure this guy was actually qualified.

Ray smiled, "No, I'm not a doctor, but I'm the closest thing to it." Dean still didn't like it, but he didn't have any other choice.

"Alright, let's get on with this," Alec said and then grumbled, "I'm ready to go back to sleep…"

Ray chuckled and then started to look Alec over. It didn't take him long to finish that before he started cleaning out Alec's bullet wound. Alec didn't complain at all and he didn't show any sign that what Ray was doing was painful. Dean could tell though that Alec was breathing slowly and he had his jaw clenched to keep from making a sound. He was in pain, he just didn't want anyone to know it.

Mole walked over after a few minutes, "Looks like you still don't know how to dodge a bullet."

"I'm pretty sure last time I was saving your ass," Alec grumbled and then he looked over at the other beds and asked, "How are Tank and Zip?"

"They'll live," Mole muttered.

"Where's Max? I figured she'd be here ready to chew me out," Alec said.

"She had to go back to command to talk to Logan," Mole answered.

Alec just nodded and Mole stood there awkwardly for a minute before he said, "I'm glad you made it back." He turned and walked away before Alec could say anything else.

Ray finished wrapping up his arm and then took a step back. "Anything else that I missed?"

Alec started to shrug and shake his head no but Sam cut him off, "You said you couldn't hear out of your right ear."

"Oh yeah…I forgot about that. But it's no big deal, it'll probably come back soon," Alec replied.

Sam shot him a look and Alec scowled back at him for telling. Ray ignored both of them and gently turned Alec's head to the side. He looked in Alec's ear for a while and then tested his hearing.

"It's pretty busted," Ray finally said. "It should heal up on its own, but your hearing might not come back until it's healed."

"Stupid sensitive hearing," Alec grumbled.

"You're probably right. I'm thinking that because your hearing is so sensitive, when the earpiece malfunctioned, it was a lot worse than it should have been," Ray explained.

"What about his heart?" Dean asked. He couldn't help it; he knew Alec had said he was fine, but he wanted a second opinion.

Ray looked at him in confusion and said slowly, "Everything seems ok…I can run some more tests if you want."

Alec looked over at him with pleading eyes; he didn't want any more tests, he just wanted to sleep. Dean thought about it and decided that he might be overreacting.

"No, as long as you think he's ok…" Dean finally relented.

Ray nodded and then looked at Alec, "You can either stay here and sleep or I can get Mole back over here to find you a room to sleep in."

Alec looked over at Sam and Dean to see what they wanted to do, but hey both shot him a look that told him it was completely up to him. Alec still looked uncertain and didn't make any move to decide.

"How 'bout you sleep here for now? And if you wake up and wanna move then we'll do that," Dean suggested.

Alec nodded his ok and twisted so he could lay behind Sam and Dean. Ray waited until Alec had his eyes closed before he mouthed 'he'll be ok' and walked away.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors for first watch?" Dean asked with a smile.

Sam smirked and nodded. Dean threw scissors just like he always did and lost. He hid his smile as Sam got up and stretched and moved to the bed next to Alec's. Both his brothers were out in just a few minutes and Dean couldn't blame them. He couldn't remember the last time they'd had a good night's sleep and they needed one.

But he wasn't going to sleep yet. He didn't care how secure this place might be, he didn't know them so that meant one of them needed to keep watch. Dean looked around and found a chair that he set in between Alec and Sam's beds. He leaned back in the chair and propped his feet up on the edge of Alec's bed.

It wasn't long before Dean saw Max walk into the room. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on Alec's sleeping form and then her face fell a little when she saw him asleep. She hesitated just a moment before she made up her mind and started towards Dean.

"Is he ok?" Max whispered.

Dean nodded, "Yeah, he's just tired."

Max shifted her weight from foot to foot, unsure what she should do next. Dean didn't want to help her out, but one look at Alec changed his mind. If Alec liked her, then he would do his best to be nice to her.

"Why don't you get a chair…" Dean slowly suggested.

Max gave him a small smile of thanks before she turned and grabbed another chair. Dean had no idea what to say to her; he could talk to Alec for hours without stopping and he'd been able to do that since he first met the kid. He didn't know much about Max except she had a complicated relationship with Logan, had been at Manticore, and that her and Alec didn't really get along. Not real great conversation starters.

"So…" Max said after a few minutes. She was just as uncomfortable as he was.

"So…" Dean said back, still uncertain what to talk about. There was another awkward silence before Dean finally decided to say something, "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what to talk about…"

Max smiled and let out a light chuckle, "I know what you mean."

"You were in Manticore right?" Dean asked after a moment.

Max nodded and said, "Me and my unit escaped when we were nine. I was captured over a year ago, which is when I met Alec."

"Wait, you named him didn't you?" Dean asked with a small smile forming on his lips.

Max smiled again, "Yeah I did."

"It's a good name…fits him," Dean said.

Max looked down and then looked up completely serious, "Is he happy?"

Dean nodded thoughtfully and then said, "I think so. I think he wouldn't stick around if he wasn't."

Max nodded, "I thought so…" She almost sounded disappointed which really pissed him off.

Dean dropped his feet to the floor and put his elbows on his knees, "Look, it's nothing against you, but I'm gonna do whatever it takes to keep Alec with us. I won't make him stay, but he's my brother and I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep him safe."

It was quiet for a minute after he said that. He hadn't wanted to be rude to her, but he couldn't help but tell her how it was.

"I guess we'll see who he wants to stay with," Max said and then she stood and left the room.

"We'll see," Dean said. He put his feet back up on Alec's bed and waited until it was time to switch.

* * *

Sam switched with Dean after four hours. Alec was still out which Sam was grateful for. Alec really needed his sleep; Sam hadn't missed all the times that Alec had been unable to sleep thanks to his nightmares.

Alec tried to hide them and most of the time he did a pretty good job. Sam hadn't noticed at first, but as time went on he started to see little things. Sam would wake up to find him sitting on the sofa and watching TV, when they had a TV in their room anyway. Other times he'd have a look in his eyes when he woke up and he wouldn't talk to either of them for a while. And a lot of the time Alec would wake up and not know where he was.

It was about a month after they'd found Alec that Sam figured out that he was having nightmares. Alec was sleeping in his bed since they'd only been able to get two beds that time. Sam had woken up in the middle of the night from his own nightmare. When he'd calmed down he'd looked over at Alec to make sure he hadn't woken him up.

Alec had still been asleep, but he was tense and Sam could see the sweat that coated his face and arms. He wasn't moving around and no sound slipped past his lips. Sam almost thought that Alec might be sick so he reached out to wake him up.

Alec had instantly woke up, jumped out of bed, and stood at attention. It took Sam a good 20 minutes to snap him out of it. He'd looked at Sam in confusion, looked down in embarrassment, and then mumbled something and went back to bed.

He never talked about what he dreamed about, but if Sam had to guess he'd say it was about Manticore. But ever since the hospital he'd seemed to have even more nightmares. It seemed like he wouldn't sleep at all if he could help it.

Alec had been sleeping peacefully this whole time, which was a relief. Sam hated to see either of his brothers in pain, especially if there was nothing he could do to help.

It had been a pretty boring watch; the only people left in the infirmary were Tank and Zip, and Ray would come in and check on all three of them every so often before he would go back to his office.

It was close to being another four hours before Alec wasn't sleeping as peacefully as he had been just a few minutes earlier. It was like a switch was flipped; Alec was sleeping just fine one minute and the next he was completely rigid, his fists were clenched, and he was starting to sweat.

Sam debated on whether he should wake Alec up or not. In the end it didn't matter because Alec snapped awake a minute later and sat up. He looked around frantically, but he relaxed a little when his eyes landed on Sam and Dean.

Alec ran a hand down his face while Sam got up from his chair and sat next to him. He put his hand on Alec's shoulder, but Alec actually jumped at the touch.

"Sorry," Alec muttered, his voice still heavy with sleep.

Sam patted Alec's back, "It's alright. How're you feeling?"

"I'm alright…kinda hungry," Alec said.

Sam chuckled, "Alright, let's see if Dean wants something." Sam turned and hit Dean on the shoulder, ignoring Alec's, "No, don't wake him up!"

"Wha'?" Dean grumbled into his pillow.

"Alec's up and wants some food," Sam said.

"'Mkay…I could eat…" Dean mumbled and then slowly got up. He did a quick sweep over Alec before he asked, "You alright?"

"Yeah, just hungry," Alec said with a small smile.

"Then let's find some food!" Dean said as he got out of bed.

Sam tried not to hover as Alec got up; he swayed a little, but then he steadied and was walking just like he normally did. None of them knew where the food was so they stopped by Ray's office to get directions.

It was actually the next building over so they didn't have very far to go. The mess hall was another shelled out house just like command and the infirmary. There were tables set up and a food line in the kitchen. There were a surprising amount of people in there, but no one said anything to them. They got some food and then they found a table that just had Ryan and Dozer sitting at it.

"Hey, you feelin' better?" Ryan asked Alec as all three of them sat down at the table.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Alec said with a smile.

"Must be a little rusty from all your time off," Dozer teased.

"Y'know, he hasn't just been on vacation," Dean said low, a clear warning in his voice.

"Hey, I'm just messin' around," Dozer quickly placated.

There was an awkward silence after that and they all focused on their food.

"So, what have you been up to?" Ryan asked curiously.

Alec glanced over at Sam and Dean with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "We've been on a road trip, out to see the world."

"That's it?" Ryan asked.

"Well, we've had a few…interesting times…" Alec vaguely replied.

"Like what?" Ryan just wouldn't drop it.

Alec smiled a little, "Shut up and eat your food."

Ryan and Dozer both laughed, but they didn't push for more answers.

They were almost done with their food when Dozer turned to Alec and asked, "So, when are you gonna be ready to go on another run?"

Alec looked uncomfortably at both Sam and Dean. Sam shot a look to Dean and saw his jaw was clenched and he was glaring holes into Dozer.

"It might be a few days," Alec finally replied to break the silence.

"Oh, c'mon," Dozer teased, "It was just a little bullet…"

"Y'know, if you'd done your job, Alec wouldn't have to wait at all," Dean lowly challenged.

Dozer laughed a little, but when he saw that Dean was serious he said, "Well Alec's not the easiest one to protect…"

"No kidding," Dean deadpanned.

"Dean…" Alec warned.

"I'm just saying," Dean defended.

"Y'know, you're kinda mouthy for an ordinary…" Dozer muttered.

Alec groaned and Sam sighed. Dean looked at Dozer with sharp eyes and stated, "You think I can't take you."

Dozer and Ryan both laughed and then Dozer said, "I don't think, I know."

Dean shared a look with Sam and smirked, he looked back at Dozer but his eyes held the weight of everything he'd seen and done, "You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"You've got guts, I'll give ya that…but ordinaries can't take on transgenics. Alec, c'mon back me up here," Dozer said.

"Dude, you're in way over your head…" Alec muttered.

Dean leaned forward with his elbows leaning on the table, "I'll prove it."

Dozer threw his head back and laughed, "You actually want to fight me?"

Dean nodded once.

Dozer looked to Alec to see what his reaction was, but he just shrugged back. "Ok…how do you want to do this?"

"Just find a place and we'll fight," Dean stated.

Dozer thought for a minute and then said, "Alright, even though you think you can take me, I want this to be a fair fight so I'll let you and your brother fight me. It'll be two ordinaries against one transgenic…as long as Alec's ok with this…"

Alec huffed and said, "It's your funeral…"

Dean and Sam both smiled at him and then Dean looked back at Dozer, "You got a deal."

* * *

 _More soon..._


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry for the long delay! I've been working every day and classes just started so updates are going to take a little longer. Anyway, BIG thank you to TheMysteriousComicGeek for giving me some ideas! Hope y'all like this!_

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Word traveled fast; which didn't surprise Alec at all considering how strange it was for ordinaries to take on a transgenic in a fair fight and actually think they could win. But Alec didn't think Sam and Dean could win, he knew. In fact, he even thought that Dean could probably take on Dozer by himself. Dozer had no idea what he was getting into.

No, Sam and Dean were not transgenics. They didn't have super speed or super strength, but they both knew how to fight creatures that did. Not only that, but they had just as much training and they knew how to fight dirty.

Dean had been bored one night when they were stuck in between jobs. Alec knew Dean was curious about just how fast and strong he was and he'd been _almost_ nonchalant about bringing it up.

 _Alec was lounging on the sofa enjoying the fact that they had a TV in their room. He wasn't always that lucky and he didn't want to ask for one in every motel that they stayed in._

 _Dean plopped down next to him and sat there, pretending to watch TV. Alec already knew he was bored since he'd already cleaned all of their guns and Sam had told him to go away around 15 times. Alec pretended that he didn't notice Dean sitting there until Dean let out a quiet sigh._

 _Dean didn't say anything until Alec looked over with an eyebrow raised in question._

 _"What're you watchin'?" Dean asked, even though Alec figured that wasn't the question that was on his mind._

 _Alec looked back at the TV and then back to Dean and replied, "Looks like a football game to me…"_

 _Dean couldn't help but smirk and he actually sat back and watched the game for a few minutes. Alec tried to watch the game, but he could see Dean out the corner of his eye starting to mess with a pocket knife. Without warning, Dean tossed the knife over to him and he caught it without even taking his eyes off the TV._

 _"Dean!" Sam yelled when he saw Dean throw the knife at Alec._

 _"What?" Dean asked defensively. "He caught it!"_

 _"Yeah, but you didn't actually know if he would or not!" Sam argued._

 _"I told you guys I had good reflexes," Alec muttered._

 _Dean chuckled and Sam shook his head, but neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Dean was still bored so Alec wordlessly handed him the knife again._

 _Dean flipped the knife around a few more times before he said, "Whoa, that's a big guy…" He was referring to the linebacker that had just popped up on the TV._

 _Alec shrugged, "I guess…"_

 _"Think you could take him?" Dean asked casually._

 _Alec smirked, "That guy? No problem." Dean raised his eyebrows in disbelief so Alec said, "Yeah he's huge, but he'd never catch me."_

 _"You seem a little overconfident," Dean teased._

 _Alec chuckled, "Nah, look at him, he can't even catch the quarterback."_

 _Dean watched the TV for a minute and then asked, "What if you took on someone not as big, but faster? Could you take them?"_

 _Alec glanced over at Dean and then back to the TV, "Depends I guess…"_

 _Dean was quiet for a minute and then he casually asked, "You think you could take me?"_

 _Alec thought about it for a moment; his immediate thought was Hell yeah! Of course he could take on an ordinary! But he'd seen them in action and he knew that it would be a challenge to take on Dean. Alec rubbed the back of his neck where his barcode was and then finally answered, "I think so, but you'd actually be a challenge."_

 _Dean pursed his lips in thought and then asked, "You wanna test it right now?"_

 _"Dean…" Sam said in warning. Dean shot Sam a look to shut him up, but looked back at Alec and waited for his reply._

 _"You want to fight right now?" Alec asked to make sure Dean was being serious._

 _Dean shrugged, "Yeah. Why not? I'm bored and I wanna see what you can do."_

 _It was just that simple and in 5 minutes they had the furniture up against the walls with Dean and Alec in the middle of the room. Sam sat in one of the chairs watching intently, just as curious as Dean was. They were just sparring, but Alec wasn't planning on going easy on Dean just because he was an ordinary._

 _He did let Dean strike first. He threw up his forearm to block Dean's punch. Dean didn't wait for him to react before he tried to hit him from the other side. Alec easily blocked that one too, but he was starting to realize that Dean was just testing him, not really fighting yet._

 _Alec blocked all of Dean's hits, but he didn't throw any of his own. He was impressed with what Dean knew, but he was a little afraid that he was going to actually hurt Dean._

 _"Finally!" Dean exclaimed with a wide smile when he got a hit past Alec's defenses. Alec had to roll with the hit to lessen it. He was really surprised at how hard the hit was and he couldn't keep the smile off of his own face._

 _"Took ya long enough…" Alec teased._

 _Alec decided it was time to test how well Dean could block and threw a quick jab to the left. Dean easily blocked it and all the other hits that he sent his way. When he finally did get through, he pulled back on his punch. Dean's head snapped to the side, but he looked back at Alec with a smirk on his face._

 _"You call that a punch?" Dean asked with a challenge in his eyes._

 _"Hey, I'm not the only one holding back," Alec accused._

 _Dean shrugged and then said, "For real this time."_

 _Alec nodded in agreement and then they were at it again. They both went faster and the hits were harder, but Alec was surprised to find that they were pretty evenly matched. Dean's hits were a lot harder than Alec thought they would be and he knew exactly where to put them to do the most damage. They weren't really fighting, but Alec knew he would be feeling some of those hits in the morning._

 _Not only were Dean's hits hard when they got through Alec's defenses, but he was really good at blocking Alec's punches. Alec still got in some good hits, but this fight was lasting a lot longer than he expected._

 _Alec blurred just to see if Dean could block it. Dean anticipated his move and easily stopped the hit. There was no doubt in his mind now that Dean and Sam could definitely take on a transgenic. They were not normal ordinaries and even though he figured this fight would be a tie, they could probably beat other transgenics._

 _Alec's eyes suddenly widened when Dean grabbed him around the middle and practically threw him to the ground. They were tangled up, wrestling on the floor. Alec couldn't help but laugh a little at how much fun this actually was._

 _Neither one of them could really get the upper hand as they rolled around on the floor. There was no telling how long this fight was going to last. Alec knew he wasn't going to give in and he highly doubted Dean was going to give up._

 _"Whoa! Stop!" Sam called out. Alec and Dean both stopped and looked up at Sam from the floor. He stood up and started towards them and said, "One of you is bleeding…"_

 _Alec looked to Dean and he could see some died blood on his arms, but he couldn't find where it was coming from._

 _"Shit," Dean muttered after he finished looking Alec over. "Sam, go get a towel…" Dean reached out a hand and helped Alec to his feet. "I think my ring got ya…" Dean said as he made Alec sit down in the chair that Sam had just vacated._

 _Dean grabbed Alec's chin and moved his head at a better angle to see the cut. Alec scowled at being manhandled, but he didn't say anything._

 _"That was fun," Alec said with a smile as Sam handed Dean the towel. Dean started wiping up the blood from the cut above his eye._

 _"Yeah, well I shoulda taken off my ring," Dean grumbled._

 _Alec rolled his eyes and then looked at Dean's ring with curiosity. He never could stop his curiosity so he asked, "Why do you have a ring?"_

 _"You're just as bad as Sam," Dean muttered, but he had a small smile ghosting his face. He pressed the towel against the cut and then grabbed Alec's hand to hold it there, "Don't move for a second…" Dean got up and left the room for a moment before coming back in with their first aid kit._

 _Dean grabbed some things before he walked back over and crouched in front of Alec. He moved the towel and cleaned the cut._

 _When Dean didn't start talking again, Alec started, "So…the ring?"_

 _Dean sighed and then said slightly joking, "It's good for openin' beer."_

 _Alec looked over to Sam to see if Dean was being serious, but Sam wasn't giving anything away._

 _Alec scowled figuring that he wasn't going to get a real answer on this one. He could practically feel the tension rolling off of Dean so he changed the subject, "You know, you were actually tough competition…"_

 _"You sound surprised," Dean shot back with a smile._

 _"Well, I am," Alec said with a wide smile and then he said, "But, you still didn't beat me…"_

 _Dean looked up at him in disbelief, "I'm not the one bleeding here. I think that means I win."_

 _Dean put a couple butterfly band aids over the cut as Alec said, "I don't think so. I think we're pretty even…I'd call it a tie."_

 _Dean let out a surprised laugh and ruffled Alec's hair as he stood, "Alright, if that makes you feel better…"_

Alec jumped as something landed on his lap. Sam and Dean's wallets, watches, phones, and other jewelry were all sitting in a pile on his lap where they had tossed them.

"I counted the money in my wallet so I'll know if any's gone," Dean warned as he kicked off his boots.

Sam put his hand on Dean's shoulder to help steady himself as he took off his own shoes. He smirked and said, "And no texting on my phone. I'm still getting weird messages from the last time you got ahold of it…"

Alec gave them an innocent smile and said, "I would never!"

They both shot him a look of disbelief and Dean said, "Just sit there and be good."

Alec smirked but just nodded as they walked to the middle of the room. They were in the mess hall, but all the tables had been pushed against the walk and transgenics filled the seats. No one in the crowd thought that this was going to be a very long fight, but they were curious about Sam and Dean.

Max suddenly slid onto the seat next to him; he looked over at her and was a little surprised when she smiled at him. He gave her a surprised smile in return and then looked back over to where Sam and Dean were in the middle of the room.

"You're really going to let them do this?" Max asked, her voice conveying how worried she was about the fight.

Alec smirked at her, "You don't _let_ Sam and Dean do anything. They just do it."

Max thought for a minute and then said, "Are you going to help them if they need it?"

Alec sighed, "No. For one, they would be pissed at me if I jumped in. Not only because they think I'm hurt, but then they would think that I didn't think they could handle this. Which I know they can."

"How do you know? Dozer's huge! And he's faster than both of them," Max argued.

"Me and Dean have actually fought before and I've been with them for a few months, so I know what they can handle."

Max kind of pouted for a minute, but then casually asked, "How're you feeling?"

Alec chuckled, "I'm fine Maxie."

Max huffed and sat there silently. Alec was fine with that; he didn't really know how to act around her anymore. It had been easier when she just didn't like him, then he could be an ass and not even care about it. But now she was trying to be nice and he was trying not to get on her nerves; it was like they were both walking on eggshells around each other.

"Alec…are you going to stay here or with your…with Sam and Dean?" Max hesitantly asked.

"Max…" Alec started slowly. He really didn't want to talk about this right now. Especially with Max; whose big brown eyes would beg him to stay and he didn't know if he'd be able to say no to her.

"You don't have to answer right now. I just want you to know that I want you here," Max said and when Alec opened his mouth she cut him off, "I know I wasn't very nice before, but I need you here."

"Max, you can run this place without me, easy," Alec argued quietly.

"But I don't want to," Max firmly stated.

"Alec! This is your last chance to call this off!" Dozer yelled from across the room, making him jump at the sudden interruption.

Alec rolled his eyes and called back, "Dozer, I'm tellin' ya, you're in over your head!"

"Whatever," Dozer waved off and then he warned, "I'm not goin' easy on 'em just because they're your brothers."

"I think they'd be disappointed if you did," Alec replied in a slightly sing-song voice.

"Are you gonna do this or not?" Mole called out gruffly around his cigar. "I'm tired of waitin'!"

"Shut up Mole!" Alec and Dean called out at the same time. They both smirked and more than just Sam rolled their eyes at them.

Max stood up and walked over to the middle of the room. She stood in between the three of them and spoke softly, "Make sure one more time that you guys don't have anything in your pockets or anything sharp on your clothes. If at any time you want to stop, just step out and you'll be done. Wait for the whistle and just…try not to kill each other…" Max turned back around and walked back over to Alec. "You sure-"

"Yes Max. Now, shut up and blow the whistle," Alec interrupted with a smile.

Max glared at him out of the corner of her eye and then blew the whistle. Alec turned his attention to his brothers; even though he knew they could handle themselves, he was still a little worried about them.

Sam and Dean immediately split apart. Dozer kept watchful eyes on Dean and quickly looked over to Sam and then back again. Alec knew Dozer was an idiot for thinking he could take on Sam and Dean at the same time.

Dozer started for Sam, but Dean stopped him with a kick to his side. Alec almost groaned at Dean's move; he'd just made it very clear that he was definitely going to protect Sam.

Sam threw a punch at Dozer, who ducked out of the way. Dean followed up Sam's hit with one of his own. Dozer accidently moved right into Dean's punch and actually had to stagger back at the force of it. Sam stepped on Dozer's foot before he could go far and held him in place as Dean hit him again.

Dozer broke free and turned and threw a punch at Sam all in one motion. Sam rolled with the hit and surprised Dozer with his killer upper-cut. Dozer looked stunned by the fact that Sam and Dean had some fight in them, but Alec knew Dozer hadn't really started fighting yet.

Dozer blurred around both Sam and Dean in a wide circle. Dean's eyes followed where he had just been, but he didn't see Dozer until the last second. He took a hard hit to the right side, but he managed to stay on his feet. Dozer blurred again, but Dean knew what he was doing this time. He waited for just the right moment and then stuck his foot out.

Dozer went flying and Alec distantly heard some cheers from the crowd. He'd almost forgotten that other people were watching this fight. He looked over around at the other transgenics until his eyes landed on Mole. He was looking in shock at Sam and Dean, his mouth hanging open until his cigar fell out of his mouth and to the floor. Alec could stop the light chuckle at the shock on the lizard man's face.

Dozer picked himself up and glared at Dean who just smirked back and shrugged sheepishly.

Dozer walked back over to them and then got back into a fighting stance. It was amazing to watch Sam and Dean working together when they started the fight again. They moved in sync; when one struck the other blocked. It was nearly impossible for Dozer to block everything. They had a system already worked out no matter how strong or fast their opponent was.

Dozer managed to get in some good hits, but he was more strength and less speed. Sam and Dean were both fast, but they even took some punches. Alec knew though, that Sam and Dean were going to win; they were unbeatable when they worked together.

Sam and Dean both kicked Dozer back at the same time and he fell to the floor. They looked down at Dozer, but then Sam patted Dean on the chest. Dean looked up at him and smiled. They didn't even need to speak to know what the other was saying, it was incredible to Alec. Sam patted him one more time and then walked over to Alec and Max.

"What're you doing?" Alec asked in confusion.

"I think Dean can handle this," Sam said with a smile. He winced a little when his smile crinkled one of his bruises.

Alec looked at him with concern, but Sam just waved him off and sat on Alec's other side.

They both looked back at Dean who was easily holding his own against Dozer. There was an obvious change in how Dean was fighting now; he was less cautious and he was actually focused on Dozer. Before, he'd been watching out for Sam and watching Dozer. He'd been keeping Sam safe, which Sam must have known since he decided to bow out of the fight.

Neither one was wearing down, but it was becoming obvious to everyone watching who the winner was going to be.

Dean suddenly swiped Dozers legs out from under him and he fell to the floor again. Dean stood over him and smirked, "Give up yet?"

Dozer laughed and then nodded, he knew when he was beat, "For now…"

Dean reached down and helped Dozer to his feet. Dozer brushed himself off and then looked at Dean with respect in his eyes. "I was wrong. You're a lot tougher than I thought."

"It was a good fight," Dean said as he shook Dozer's hand. "And now you know that I _can_ kick your ass if you let anything happen to my little brother again."

Dozer laughed and then said seriously, "Luckily for me, he's not going on another run without you or your brother."

Dean smiled, "That's what I like to hear."

Dean clapped Dozer on the shoulder and then walked back over to them. His smile was wide and there was almost a bounce in his step with how happy he was. Transgenics were all looking at him in shock, but he ignored them as he made his way over to Sam, Alec, and Max.

Alec started to hand Dean his things back, but stopped when he noticed that Dean wasn't looking at him. He was looking at Max; his eyebrows were drawn together in confusion and he was looking at her like she was insane. Alec quickly looked over at Max and saw that she was looking between Sam and Dean with wide eyed shock.

"Dude, what's wrong with your girlfriend?" Dean asked Alec after a minute.

Alec nudged Max, but she didn't move. He shook her just a little and asked in concern, "Max! What's wrong?"

Max jumped a little and seemed to shake herself out of it. She looked between them all again and then looked at Alec and asked, "What did you say they did again…"

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 _More soon..._


	8. Chapter 8

_Again, I'm sorry for the long wait! But I hope you guys like this chapter. Hopefully I can start updating a little more frequently again soon!_

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Max walked into command and wasn't at all surprised to see Alec standing with Mole. He had his back turned to her, so he didn't see her come in. But he must have sensed her because a moment later his head snapped up and he looked over at her. A smile crossed his face as soon as he saw her and she smiled back.

It was still strange to have this overwhelming feeling of relief at just seeing him there. She didn't want to admit it, but she felt so much more comfortable with him around. Command was easy, people fell into line without question, and any problems that came up could be fixed as if they had never happened. She'd smiled more in the past week than she had in her entire life.

Sam, Dean, and Alec had been there a week, but already they fit in perfectly with the other transgenics. Everyone loved Sam and Dean and even though she wanted to not like them, she couldn't help it. They were helpful wherever they could be, all the kids loved them, they were funny, actually helped with supply runs, and they never complained. If only they weren't going to take Alec away from her.

But she couldn't ignore how Alec had changed because of them. He was more relaxed now; not that he wasn't before, but now it seemed more genuine. He was actually sweet to her instead of being an ass like he used to be. And he was a natural leader; people just listened when he talked and they didn't question his orders. What would she do when he left?

She banished those thoughts as she walked across the room. She gently touched Alec's back as she walked up and greeted, "Hey."

Mole looked at both of them and rolled his eyes. He shook his head and grumbled, "Stinkin' love birds…" before he turned and walked away from them.

"Hey," Alec replied, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

"What's going on?" Max asked curiously.

"Mole's just mad cause he lost some more money to Dean," Alec said.

"He should stop playing…that's what, over $300?" Max said with a smile.

"Try telling him that," Alec replied. His tone was teasing but when he met her eyes, she felt her knees grow weak. Why did he have this effect on her?

He was smiling at her and she couldn't help but reach up and lightly touch his cheek. His smile widened and she ran her hand back through his hair to rest at the back of his neck. His hands were around her waist; his touch almost burning through her shirt. She pulled him down lightly and stood on her toes to meet him halfway.

Their lips met with a soft touch, his lips parting just a little. She took advantage of the opening and deepened their kiss. She pressed herself against him with her other hand coming up to rest against his chest and his arms tightened around her.

Someone suddenly cleared their throat and then Dean said, "You two should get a room…" and they instantly broke apart, breathing slightly heavier than normal. Max couldn't stop the small blush that colored her cheeks as she turned around and saw Sam and Dean standing there. The only thing that kept her in the room was Alec's arm around her waist. When she looked up at him, he was smirking at his two brothers and she couldn't help but elbow him in the side.

"What're you guys doing?" Alec asked, his voice not hiding how funny he thought this whole thing was.

"Lookin' for you," Dean replied. "I'm tired of takin' everyone's money."

Alec's arm tightened around her and alarm bells started to go off. She didn't know why, but it seemed like Dean was telling Alec something without actually saying it. And she didn't think it was something she was going to like. But they still spoke like nothing was going on.

"It's almost too easy," Sam said with a smile.

"Well we're just trained soldiers, not all of 'em have the same skills set that I do," Alec joked.

"You seen Mole?" Dean asked, looking around the room. "He owes me some money…"

"He left a little bit ago, but I'd wait a little while anyway. He's kinda grouchy," Alec replied.

Dean held up one finger in protest, "It's not my fault the guy doesn't have a poker face! You'd think someone with scales everywhere wouldn't tell every move he was gonna make!"

"Besides that, how can you even tell if Mole's grouchier now than any other time?" Sam asked, trying to hold in a laugh and failing.

"If he's got a gun on him, definitely don't talk to him," Max advised with a light chuckle.

Dean looked thoughtful for a minute and then said, "Yeah, that's a good point…"

"Hey, you wanna go get something to eat?" Sam asked Alec. Even Max could pick up that they wanted to talk to Alec alone.

"Yeah," Alec agreed and then said to Max, "I'll catch up with you later…"

Sam and Dean started to leave and Max said to him, "I'll be here…"

Alec leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek before he followed Sam and Dean. He jogged to catch up with them and Max couldn't help but feel his absence. He'd found somewhere where he belonged; had a family that wanted him with them. But she wanted him to stay.

She didn't know what they were, but they were getting along. Well more than getting along, and she was happy. If he stayed then they could probably actually start dating. Life here would be so much better with him around; just the thought brought a small smile to her face.

"Hey Max," A quiet voice suddenly greeted, interrupting her happy daydream.

She jumped a little and turned to see Logan standing there. "Hey Logan…" She didn't really want to talk him, but she'd been avoiding him a lot lately.

"I guess you and Alec are getting along…" Logan started slowly.

"Yup," Max replied shortly, picking up some papers to flip through.

"Is he staying?" Logan continued, completely missing the fact that she didn't want to talk to him. Especially about Alec.

"If he wants to," Max said without looking up.

"Max, I know you felt guilty before about Alec, but he'd understand if you didn't hang around him all the time…" Logan said after a minute.

Max looked up and shot Logan a cold glare.

"Maybe you would want to have dinner with me sometime…" Logan said, sill oblivious.

"Logan, I broke up with you two months ago. I don't want to be with you," Max said slowly, hoping Logan would understand.

"Max, you don't mean that," Logan said softly. When she didn't reply he switched to anger, "Have you forgotten everything he's done? He helped you so you would give me the virus, he tried to kill you and Joshua, and he didn't even try to help when we accidently touched and I was dying. You owe him nothing! Just because he had one noble moment a few months ago, doesn't make up for everything else. He's still a psychopath!"

"Get out," Max stated lowly, her voice almost a growl.

"Max," Logan tried to soothe. "I didn't mean-"

"I said, get out," Max warned again.

"Max, this is ridiculous…" Logan said, his voice annoyed.

"Get out before I rip your throat out," Max said. She crushed the papers in her hands trying to force herself to calm down.

Logan actually looked scared, which was good. She wasn't afraid to actually follow through. She didn't know what was really going on with her and Alec, but Logan crossed the line.

"You better get out or else she won't be the only one after you," Mole suddenly growled behind her. She hadn't even realized he was there.

Logan looked at her one more time before he finally nodded once and mumbled, "I'll see you 'round Max…" Before he turned and left the room.

"Freakin' ordinary doesn't know when to shut up," Mole said once Logan was gone. "He went too far with the kid's brothers too, but he got a fist to the face that time."

Max still stood there with the papers in her hands. She could hear Mole, but she was too angry to even move let alone talk to him.

"Alright Princess, give me those," Mole said, surprisingly gently. He carefully pulled the papers out of her fists and then looked her over. "Either take a walk or go to the gym. Blow off some steam, I'll hold down the fort until you get back."

Max finally looked at Mole, but she didn't feel like she could leave yet. She knew she needed to get out of there for a while, but something was missing.

"If Pretty Boy comes looking for ya, I'll let him know," Mole reassured with a roll of his eyes.

"Thanks Mole," Max mumbled and then she made her way out of command.

* * *

Dean was getting bored. Sam knew that and he knew that meant it was almost time to move on. They'd stayed that long for Alec and now it was about time to get back to work. The past week had been fun though. He and Dean had gotten to go on a few supply runs and had been able to get to know some of Alec's friends.

The only reason they hadn't left sooner was the fact that Alec was so happy. He helped plan the supply runs, but he didn't argue with them when they laid down the law. He was laid back and he seemed like he belonged here. Which sucked.

Sam wanted him to leave with them, but at this point he didn't know what Alec would choose to do. On one side Alec would have Max and all his friends. He would still have exciting times with all the things that the transgenics were doing, but he'd be stuck in one place. On the other side, Alec could stay with his family. They would still hunt, but that was a dangerous gig and it would take him away from Max.

"Hey, you comin' or what?" Dean asked with a light smack to Sam's arm.

Sam kinda shook himself before he nodded and followed Dean and Alec into the mess hall. They grabbed some food and then found a table in the corner so they could talk. They were almost always surrounded by other transgenics who were either curious about them or that were friends with Alec. It was actually nice to just find a small table that wouldn't allow for anyone else.

"You and Max seem to be getting along," Dean said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Alec smirked, "It's definitely better than it used to be…"

Dean chuckled and reached over for the bread on Alec's plate. Alec scowled and stole Dean's pudding.

Dean reached again, but Sam cut him off and warned, "Knock it off." Both of them shot him matching scowls, but they went back to actually eating.

"Look, Alec…" Dean started once they were pretty much done eating, but Alec cut him off.

"I know you guys are bored…I just need to figure out a way to tell Max that we're leaving…" Alec said hesitantly.

"You're gonna stay with us?" Sam couldn't help but ask.

Alec looked at him like he was insane and replied, "Duh I'm staying with you guys." He looked at both of them and saw the shock on their faces, "You thought I was gonna stay here?"

Sam and Dean looked at each other before Sam said, "We thought you'd want to stay with Max…"

Alec looked down with guilt, "Max is great…but you guys…you're my family…"

Sam and Dean both gave Alec small smiles and then Dean said, "You know, it doesn't have to be one or the other. We can come back."

"Really?" Alec said, looking up hopefully.

"Yeah!" Dean said, giving Alec a wider smile. "Besides, who else is going to get Mole the cigars he likes?"

"Or teach all the kids how to pickpocket?" Sam threw in.

Alec chuckled, but then he asked to just make sure, "You guys are really ok with coming back here sometime?"

"Duh," Dean said with a laugh. He half stood to reach over and ruffle Alec's hair. Alec lightly pushed him away and ran his hand through his hair to fix it.

"Dean just gets bored too easily," Sam reassured once Dean sat down again.

"I do not!" Dean indignantly replied.

"Yes you do!" Sam argued. "We've only been here a week and you're bored."

"What can I say, I like driving and I miss my Baby," Dean said with a smile and Sam just shook his head in exasperation.

"What should I say to Max?" Alec worriedly asked.

"Tell her that you'll be back," Sam suggested.

"Yeah, but do it in a cool way, like Arnold," Dean said with bright eyes. Alec raised his eyebrows in question and Dean groaned. "Oh you gotta be kidding me! You've never seen The Terminator?"

Sam quickly looked to Alec, equally surprised that he'd never seen the classic movie. The amount of time that Alec watched TV, there was no way he could have missed it.

"No…" Alec replied slowly.

"Ok, that's next on the list to watch," Dean said with determination and then mumbled under his breath, "Can't believe you've never seen The Terminator…"

"So what does he say? How does Arnold do it?" Alec asked earnestly.

Dean lowered his voice to sound like The Terminator and said seriously, "I'll be back."

Sam tried to hold in his laugh at seeing Alec's face. He went from looking at Dean like he was insane and then changing to more incredulous that Dean wanted him to say that to Max.

It was silent for a full minute before Alec finally asked, "Are you serious? That's what you want me to say to Max?"

That was when Sam and Dean both lost it. They were laughing so loud that people in the mess hall were starting to look over at them.

"You guys are awful," Alec said, but he was trying to hide his own smile.

"But for real," Dean said, sobering just a little. "Just tell her that you're leaving, but you'll come back."

"And give her your phone number so she can call you sometime," Sam suggested.

"Oh yeah! Good idea Sam," Dean said and Sam couldn't help but smile at the praise.

"Alright, maybe this time I won't get my ass kicked," Alec said with a small smile as he got up to leave. Sam and Dean followed his lead after just a few seconds and they all headed for command.

* * *

Alec walked into command with Sam and Dean right behind him. He scanned the room to try and find where Max was. When he didn't see her, he started looking for Mole instead. He finally saw the lizard man standing by a bank of computers, talking to Dix.

"Mole!" Alec called out and Mole's head snapped up to glare at him.

"What?" Mole grumbled around his cigar.

"Where's Max?"

"She had to go take a walk."

Alec started to turn to leave, but Mole stopped him. "I hate to say this…but we need your help…"

"With what?" Alec asked, slowly starting back over to Mole.

"We sent out a recon team a few hours ago, but we haven't heard back," Mole said once Alec, Sam, and Dean were next to him.

"Com's down?" Alec asked.

"Com's are good," Dix answered.

"Who's team?"

"Tasha's," Mole said. Alec knew Tasha; she had been in his unit back at Manticore. She would never be late or keep radio silence unless it was absolutely necessary. She was good at what she did and the fact that she wasn't back yet, and hadn't reported in, meant bad news.

"What were they scouting out? And who all was on her team?" Alec asked. He was trying to hide how worried he was, but he felt either Sam or Dean put a hand on his arm in reassurance.

"A warehouse just a few blocks into town. It was supposed to have a stockpile of food, but it was a recon mission only. She took Sweep, Dalton, Lola, and Link with her."

Alec shot Mole a sharp look, "Those are just kids! What the Hell Mole!"

"This is why I didn't want to tell you," Mole growled.

"Why? Cause I wouldn't send out kids to do a recon mission," Alec growled back.

"You and I both know that the only way to get experience is goin' out there!" Mole defended.

Alec deflated a little; he knew Mole was right and there was no point in arguing about it now. "Alright, when did you hear from them last?"

"They had just gone in the building when Tasha was cut off. We thought maybe there was just some interference, but she never came back online. It shoulda only taken an hour at most to scout out the warehouse, but it's been silent for two hours," Mole stated.

Alec scanned the computers in front of him to try and figure out where Tasha and her team might be. He hoped that it was just something like the sector cops were patrolling and they couldn't get through, but he had a bad feeling about this whole thing.

Dix suddenly spun around from where he was sitting at the computer. His eyes were wide and he motioned for Alec and Mole to pick up the other headsets. Alec quickly picked up one of the headsets and put it on. No one said anything and the line was silent so Alec looked over at Dix in confusion. Dix motioned for him to say something.

"Report?" Alec said into the com.

There was just static for a minute and Alec was about ready to chew Dix out when the slimy voice of Ames White came through. "494. I thought you were dead."

"I'm not that easy to kill," Alec replied. He motioned for Mole to go find Max and Sam and Dean took up the other headsets.

"Unfortunately, you're right. You freaks are like cockroaches," White sneered. "But I will wipe you all out."

"Good luck with that," Alec said with a smirk. "Cockroaches are almost impossible to kill off."

"Where's 452?"

" _Max_ doesn't like to talk to scum like you," Alec said with a sly smile.

"Well, I don't actually need your help this time 494. See, I already have a group of transgenics so I don't need you to go out and find me some," White said and Alec knew all the color had drained from his face.

"You son of a bitch," Alec spit out. "Where are they?"

"This is where I explain to you, again, that I need to speak with 452. Although she is still a small minded abomination, I have to admit that I'd rather talk to her."

"Well, sucks to be you, cause you're talkin' to me," Alec said coldly.

White sighed dramatically and then said, "Fine. I'll speak to the even smaller minded freak. I have your pathetic recon team and I will kill them. Unless…you come and get them. We're in an abandoned two-story house on the south side of town. You have until midnight tonight before I kill them." Then all Alec could hear was static.

It was completely silent in command and Alec was frozen. White had some of their own people and they only had until midnight to get them back. It was going to be a bloodbath to get them back and everyone knew it.

He jumped when the door opened, but then he turned he saw Max walking in. She looked confused by everyone standing around frozen until her eyes landed on him.

"Alec, what's going on?" Max asked slowly.

"White…he has the recon team…" Alec said in a whisper. "He's gonna kill them at midnight."

* * *

 _More soon..._


	9. Chapter 9

_This chapter has violence in it so heads up._

* * *

"Max's Team, Team A, will go in from the roof. Alec's Team, Team B, will go in from the basement. We don't know exactly where the Recon Team is being kept so we'll start from the top and the bottom and work our way to the middle. If anything goes wrong, and it probably will, my team, Team C, or the freakin' backup team, whatever the Hell you wanna call it-"

"Mole!" Alec yelled to get him back on track.

"Whatever," Mole grumbled, "My team will bust through the front when this whole plan goes to shit."

"Always the optimist," Dean said with a wide smile.

"Shut it Winchester," Mole said in reply, but that just made Dean chuckle.

"Anyway," Max said with a pointed look at both Mole and Dean. "Tank's still out, so Sam you're on Alec's Team and Dean you'll be on mine with Cam, Chopper, and Penny. Mole, you've got Syd, Maggie, Tack, and Drizzle. Any questions?"

There were about 20 people in command listening to their mission briefing, but only 15 people were actually going; the other five were going to stay and cover the coms. It was almost 10 o' clock at night so that gave them 2 hours to get their people back.

It had taken them a long time to come up anything they could all agree on. They all knew that they would lose some of their own during this mission no matter what the plan was. White was waiting for them and he would do anything to kill off the transgenics. But they couldn't leave their people behind.

Everyone shook their head no to having any questions and Max nodded. "Ok, we all know this is going to be a dangerous one so if anyone wants out, now's the time." No one made any move to leave so Max said, "Good. We leave in 5."

* * *

Alec took slow, deep breaths. His heart was racing, but not because he was nervous for himself. He was nervous about Sam and Dean going on this suicide mission with him. And he was nervous about the recon team; White could do any number of things to them before their rescuers got to them. This whole plan was terrible, but there was nothing else they could do. This was why he was breathing as slowly and as deeply as he could.

He couldn't think about everything that could, and probably would, go wrong. He had to focus on his part of the mission and not worry about anything else. He had to look out for his team and trust that the other teams would do the same.

They were in a big military truck with his team sitting on one side and Max's team sitting on the other. Sam was sitting beside him and Max and Dean were sitting right across from him. Mole and his team were riding in the second truck behind them.

They were going to park as close as they could, but they were going to have to walk a ways. They didn't want White and his familiars to hear them coming. The house where their people were being held was on the south of Seattle and it was by itself, surrounded by woods. No one else would hear what was going on.

Their truck suddenly hit a huge bump and everyone in the back was thrown around.

"Can't believe you let Ryan drive…" Alec grumbled to Max.

"He volunteered," Max shot back.

"Should start looking for new volunteers," Alec mumbled.

"Does he always complain this much?" Max asked Dean.

"Well, he's used to my driving so anyone else seems awful," Dean said with a smirk.

"You actually know how to avoid the potholes," Alec replied.

"I'm hearin' a lot of complainin' back there," Ryan called back.

"Drive better and you won't get any complaints!" Alec said. Ryan started to turn to face them, but Alec yelled, "Hey! Eyes on the road!"

"Chicken," Ryan said with a laugh.

It was quiet in the truck for a few minutes before they started to slow down. Ryan parked in a secluded spot where they could hide the vehicle and Alec's team stood. Dozer and Zip hopped out, but Sam and Alec both hesitated.

"Be careful out there," Dean said gruffly.

"You too," Sam replied, his voice thick.

"Better get goin'…look out for each other…" Dean said with a small smile.

Sam nodded once and then hopped out of the truck and Alec slowly followed. Ryan met them at the back and they started to silently make their way to the house.

"Alec!" Max suddenly called out and Alec whirled around to see her jogging towards him.

He met her halfway and she flung her arms around his neck. He held her close and tried to memorize how this felt.

"Please be careful," Max said breathlessly.

"I will, you be careful too," Alec murmured into Max's hair and she nodded back. "And watch out for Dean ok?"

"I will," Max promised.

Alec held her just a second longer before he gently pushed her away. He kissed her tenderly on the lips and then walked back to his team. They didn't say anything as they made their way through the trees. It took them 15 minutes to walk from the truck to the house.

There were lights shining through the windows on the main floor, but the top floor and the small window of the basement were dark. Alec led the way, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. It was too easy to get to the basement window where they were going to break in. He didn't like this one bit; they were voluntarily walking into a trap.

* * *

They waited 15 minutes before they started to move out. Dean hated this whole situation, but that was mainly because Sam and Alec would definitely be in danger.

Max signaled for them to move out; Dean stuck close to her side. There was no way he was letting her get hurt if he could help it. Alec didn't let just anyone in, and although Dean wasn't convinced that Alec had actually let Max in, he did think that she possibly could be let in some day.

They were still pretty far out from the house so Dean decided to take a leap for his little brother.

"Hey Max…" Dean started out, instantly gaining her attention as they walked. "You know we're probably going to be leaving after this, right?"

Max shot him a sharp look and demanded with a hiss, "And you think the right time to tell me this is now?"

"I'm not sayin' this to be mean," Dean instantly backpedaled. "I'm givin' you a heads up."

"And he's going with you," Max said quietly.

"Yeah," Dean replied softly, nodding his head. He paused for a second and then reassured, "But we're going to come back." Max's head snapped up and her eyes met his and he chuckled lightly, "Y'know, he looked at me almost the same exact way…"

"What do you guys do?" Max asked after just a moment of hesitation. The curiosity in her voice reminded him of Alec and it made him smile. When he didn't answer right away Max continued, "Please tell me. I don't think Alec will ever let me in on whatever secret you guys are hiding."

Dean thought about it for a minute. It probably couldn't hurt to tell her considering how well Alec took the information, but he didn't think this was the time or the place to tell her. Not only that, but he wanted Alec and Sam there with him when they did finally tell her what was going on.

"I can't tell you right now," Dean finally answered. She looked at him with disappointment but he quickly held up his hand to tell her to let him finish. "We should wait until we're back and Alec and Sam can be there too."

Max gave him a small smile and then said, "You're alright Dean. I didn't like you before, but I think I've changed my mind."

"You're alright too Max," Dean replied back with a real smile.

"Let's wrap this up fast," Max said, her small smile turning into a mischievous grin. "My curiosity is killing me."

"Curiosity killed the cat Max," Dean said with a slight smirk.

She looked at him in shock and then switched to amusement, "You're just as bad as Alec…"

Dean laughed and then said seriously, "It's the other way around."

"What?" Max asked in confusion.

"It's the other way around…I'm older so Alec's just as bad as me…" Max looked at him like he was insane, but he just shook his head and muttered, "Never mind…"

* * *

Sam pulled out his pocket knife and knelt down in front of the small basement window. They were lucky that this was an old house that was easy to break into. They didn't want to actually break the window since it would draw too much attention.

Sam slid the knife in between the wood and the window and moved it across the lock. It easily unlatched and Sam pushed the window open. He held it up so Alec could slip inside. Alec shot him a cocky smile before gracefully maneuvering through the opening. Ryan went next so he could give Alec some backup while he cleared the room.

Alec appeared a second later and used a pipe to prop the window open. Sam dropped his long legs through the window and then dropped to the floor a moment later. He didn't wait to see if Zip and Dozer had made it through; he pulled his gun and covered Alec.

There was a light tap on his shoulder and out of the corner of his eyes he saw Alec move further into the room. They spread out a little so they could search the room. Sam didn't see any sign that the team was being held here or that they had been here at all.

The room was covered in a layer of dust so thick it looked like snow and all the furniture was covered with sheets. They were silent as they searched the room, but they were leaving footprints everywhere they went. They cleared the first room without a hitch and quickly moved on to the second.

They were thorough with their search, but so far they hadn't found anything. They hadn't really thought that the Recon Team was going to be kept here. They methodically worked their way through the smaller rooms until all that was left was the main room.

There was a beautifully built staircase at the far end of the room and if the house hadn't been so neglected it would have been a sight to see. The big room was empty just like the others and Sam looked to Alec to see what their next step would be.

Alec motioned for Ryan to move on to the next floor and Ryan nodded his approval. Ryan slowly started up the stairs with Zip following behind him. Alec started to move next, but Sam had a bad feeling and put a hand against Alec's chest to stop him. Sam motioned for Alec to stay put; Alec's eyes narrowed, not liking being bossed around. But Alec did what he was told and didn't take another step.

Sam walked slowly over to the stairs where Ryan was already halfway up. Something didn't feel right. The others must have felt it too because Ryan stopped and looked back at them. Alec was scanning the room with sharp eyes.

Ryan took a step down. There was a small beep and then the stairs suddenly exploded.

* * *

It had been fairly easy to get to the abandoned house and it was fun scaling the building. Dean could almost forget that they were on a dangerous mission and not on another one of the supply runs.

Dean had watched in amazement as Max and the others just jumped up to the roof. Max lowered down a rope so Dean could climb up. They found a place where the roof was partially caved in; he and Max kicked it in the rest of the way so they could all drop inside.

A cloud of dust rose up when they landed and Dean wrinkled his nose in disgust. He hated these old houses. They were always dirty and disgusting. Sam would have told him that at one point it was probably a beautiful place that someone had lived in. It was really just depressing; to be forgotten and left behind to the point where you were unrecognizable. But Dean would ignore those feelings and instead run his finger through the dust and then wipe it off on Sam. He would scowl at him and Dean would just laugh and it would lessen the dark mood of the place for a minute.

Nothing could lighten things up this time though. His two brothers were on a completely different floor and they weren't on a simple salt and burn. This was a rescue mission. And the sooner they found the recon team and got out of there, the better.

Max suddenly motioned for the other three to search the left side and then she led the way to the right. Dean let her lead since this was her op and these were her people. As long as he could stay close to her to protect her. He would never forgive himself if something happened to his little brother's girlfriend.

Dean covered her while they quickly searched the top floor. It was empty just as they expected so they met up with the other three. Max signaled that they were going to go to the next floor down, but Dean cut her off. Something wasn't right.

Max glared at him, but he ignored her and slowly moved to the stairs next Cam. Max stood with her hand on her hip waiting for him impatiently.

The ground suddenly shook violently and Dean had to catch himself so he didn't fall over. He looked up in alarm and saw Max looking at him with the same look in her eyes. Dean looked down in panic as the floor they were all standing on started to crack.

* * *

Alec was slow coming back to consciousness. He'd been thrown back when the bombs went off and hit his head hard against the floor. He tried to open his eyes but the whole room was spinning in circles. It was dark anyway, so not much to see.

Alec tried to sit up, but found that something was holding him down. He tried again to open his eyes to see what it was, but it was no use. Instead, he tried to move his arms but his right arm was pinned. His left arm seemed to be mostly free so he felt around to see if he could move whatever was holding him down.

"Alec!"

Alec tried to turn his head to see who was calling for him. He knew it wasn't Sam.

Sam! Where was Sam?! Was he hurt?! Alec started to breathe harder in panic, but he could only take short gasps of air his chest hurt so badly.

"Alec!" The call this time was louder and Alec could hear the panic in the voice.

Alec tried to calm down; he wouldn't do Sam any good by freaking out and then passing out. He tried to focus and then finally saw the huge outline of Dozer through the dust and the smoke.

"Dozer!" Alec tried to call back, but his voice was hoarse and breathless. He started coughing from the smoke and dust, but the coughing was sending a sharp pain through his chest. He tried to take in a deeper breath, but it was no use. Whatever had landed on him had practically crushed his chest, making it almost impossible to breathe.

"Alec," Dozer said in relief. He was a lot closer this time; actually Dozer was standing right above him. "It's good to see ya man."

"I can't get up," Alec said on an exhale.

"That's cause a huge chunk of wood's tryin' to crush ya," Dozer said quietly.

"Can you get it off?" Alec asked quietly. It seemed like anything above a whisper wasn't going to happen.

"I can try…" Dozer said slowly, scanning the wood that was covering him. Alec just then noticed the awkward way that Dozer was holding his left arm.

"Your arm?" Alec asked, glancing back up at Dozer's face.

"Broken," Dozer confirmed. "Had to break it to get out from where I was."

Alec made a sympathetic sound and then asked, "What 'bout the others?"

"Can't get to 'em," Dozer replied, looking away from Alec and towards where the stairs used to be.

"Think you and me could…" Alec had to pause to catch his breath, "…both lift. Get this off?"

Alec looked up hopefully and Dozer looked him over again. He slowly started to nod and Alec's hope was renewed. Maybe he was fine and once they got the wood off, he would find Sam and he would be fine too.

Dozer moved so he could lift on Alec's right side, "Ok, lift with your left on three. One, two, three."

Alec and Dozer both lifted. Alec pushed with all he had and felt the wood start to raise. They had it almost all the way off his chest when Dozer said, his voice strained, "Move it!"

Alec used his feet to push himself out from under the wood and rolled out of the way. Dozer waited until he was clear and then dropped the wood back to the ground with a heavy thud. Dozer was next to him a moment later; his vision was going in and out with the pain of moving.

"How bad?" Dozer asked quietly.

"Just need a minute," Alec replied, still whispering. Alec collected himself and tried to ignore the pain. He needed to find Sam.

Alec started to sit up, but immediately started to fall back. Dozer was there though, he kept him up until he could stay sitting up by himself.

Alec looked over at Dozer's arm to keep himself distracted for a moment. "You want me to set that?" It was a good thing they all had sensitive hearing; he barely had enough to even ask the question let alone reset a broken bone.

"It's already starting to heal," Dozer replied quietly. Alec started to offer, but Dozer cut him off, "We'll deal with it later, alright?" Alec nodded so Dozer continued, "We gotta get over to the stairs and find the others. You think you're up for it?" Alec nodded again, finding that it was easier when he didn't try to breathe too deeply.

Dozer helped him to his feet. He nearly passed out at the new altitude, but managed to stay conscious.

"I think there was a pressure trigger under the stairs," Dozer said as they started slowly making their way through the wreckage. "Ryan must've missed it the first time he stepped down, but the second time was just the right spot."

"The others?" Alec managed to ask, hoping Dozer would get what he was asking.

"Don't really know…" Dozer hedged. "Part of the ceiling fell in and blocked off the area. I was hopin' you'd be able to get through…"

"I'll be fine…only hurts…when I breathe…" Alec replied with a ghost of his usual smirk.

"Y'know, even for transgenics it's important to breathe," Dozer replied with a small smile.

Dozer stopped them at a wall of debris. Alec immediately saw where Dozer thought he could get through. There was a tiny hole about eight feet up. He'd have to crawl up the debris which is why Dozer needed his help. Even with two arms it would be a difficult climb.

"I'll lead…anchor if you need it…"Alec gasped out and Dozer nodded his agreement.

Alec slowly picked his way up the pile; finding good foot holes and pointing them out to Dozer. He had to crawl up one section and then help Dozer up since he had a broken arm. It took a while but they finally made it to the small hole.

Alec pushed on the edges to make the hole bigger. He tried to maneuver his way through, but his chest hurt too bad to just scrunch up. So he backed up and got rid of some more debris.

"Alec?" A timid voice called out from the other side, and Alec recognized it as Zip.

"Zip?" Alec asked, hope creeping into his voice. "You alright?"

"Busted knee and a few broken bones," Zip answered. "Sam saved me from the worst of it."

"How're Sam and Ryan?" Alec asked in concern.

"I don't know man, I just woke up…" Zip replied and Alec could hear a little waver in his voice.

"It's alright…me and Dozer…will be there soon," Alec tried to reassure.

"You and Dozer alright?" Zip asked as Alec worked his way through the hole.

"Yeah…Dozer broke his arm…I'm having a little…breathing problem…" Alec said with a small smile, trying to ignore the pain that moving was bringing on.

Alec made it through to the other side and turned to help Dozer through. Once they were both on the same side, they just sat down and sort of slid down the pile. Zip was sitting at the bottom, his knee bent at a painful angle. He wasn't going anywhere soon, but otherwise he seemed ok.

"You stay put," Alec said to Zip after he did a quick check. Then he looked to Dozer and said, "You can help me…look for the others…"

Dozer started looking to the left and Alec slowly started looking right. He had to put his hand against his chest at one point to try and ease some of the pain that was going through him with every step he took. He'd feel a lot better once he found Sam.

"Sam!" Alec tried to whisper-yell in the small hope that Sam could actually hear him.

"Alec!"

He spun around at the surprise response, but figured out that it was just Dozer calling him over. He slowly made his way back over to where he left Zip and he pointed him where to go.

"You find them?" Alec asked, slightly hopeful.

"It's not good," Dozer warned.

Alec's heart sank, more than that actually, he felt like he couldn't move. Sam was gone. He couldn't bear to even see what had happened. But Sam was his brother and he still couldn't leave him. He took as deep of a breath that he could and braced himself for what he would see.

"Sam's alive," Dozer suddenly broke through Alec's thoughts.

The world started spinning and Alec realized that breathing would probably help things. Alec took in a shuddering breath and finally found the strength to move again. He really wanted to cuss Dozer out for giving him a heart attack, but that would wait until he had enough air to do it right.

"…Unconscious, but I think he'll pull through…" Alec realized that he missed a lot of what Dozer had been saying. "But I don't know about Ryan…" Dozer continued quietly.

Alec finally found where they were; his eyes scanned the area looking for Sam. Once he saw him, he rushed over to his side. Sam was on his back, his eyes were closed but Alec could see the steady rise and fall of his chest. There was some blood soaking a few spots on his shirt, but it wasn't an excessive amount. Alec quickly checked for breaks, but didn't find any.

"Go get Zip…bring him over," Alec said to Dozer. He looked relieved to be given something to do and immediately went into action. Alec was pretty sure that Sam would be fine, but he would be right back to him once he found Ryan.

He scanned the dark room again, but he didn't see Ryan right away. He looked a little harder and thought he saw what looked like a hand. He slowly got up and made his way over. He sank to his knees when he saw Ryan. From about his chest down he was being crushed by tons of debris. The support beams to the house were part of the mix plus most of the stairs.

Alec crawled over to his old friend and was surprised his see Ryan's pain filled eyes following him.

"Hey man," Alec breathed out.

"Hey…" Ryan chocked out, blood slipping past his lips.

Alec looked him over and tried to think of something reassuring that he could say. He tried to move some of the debris, but there was no way he could lift some of the bigger pieces. But that wasn't going to stop him from trying. He wasn't about to just let his friend die.

"I know…I'm…done for," Ryan managed, grabbing Alec's wrist to stop him.

Alec waved him off, "This is nothin'…you've had worse…"

Ryan tried to smile at Alec's attempt and shook his head, "Always…the optimist…"

Alec tried to blink away the tears that were forming in his eyes. "Had to be with you around…"

Ryan actually smiled and then grabbed Alec's hand hard. "Alec…"

"Yeah man, I'm right here…" Alec reassured, returning Ryan hard grip.

"Tasha…if she makes it…out of here…tell her…" Ryan coughed up some more blood and was just about gasping for air, but Alec didn't interrupt him. He knew when someone was dying and Ryan was just about gone. "Tell her…I love her…and I'm sorry…"

Ryan looked up at him with pleading eyes to pass on his message. Tears started to fall down Alec's dirty cheeks, but he didn't wipe them away. "I'll tell her," Alec promised.

"You're one of…the good ones Alec…" Ryan said on his last breath. His eyes stared up at nothing and the hand that was in Alec's went limp. Alec leaned his forehead against Ryan's and let the tears fall.

He and Ryan had worked well together at Manticore and had been put on more than one mission together. They had first met when they were both around 10, carrying guns that were too big for them and going through their daily exercises. Manticore wanted to see if they could work together for some of their two-man missions in the future.

They proved that they had no problems with each other after just one day of training. Alec didn't see Ryan again until they had been put on a mission together. Their first mission went off without a hitch so Manticore continued to put them on the same team, even though they weren't in the same unit.

During all of their missions, Alec and Ryan had become friends. You usually didn't have friends at Manticore, it was every man for himself, but it was different with him and Ryan. They could be apart for years, but as soon as they were back together it was just like old times. He would miss his old friend; they'd been through a lot together.

"Is he…" Dozer trailed off, afraid to hear the answer to a question he couldn't ask.

Alec sat up, but he kept his back to the others. He nodded as he gently closed Ryan's blank eyes. He hastily wiped his tears from his dirty cheeks before he stood to face Dozer and Zip.

"He's gone," Alec said, his voice thick.

Dozer and Zip both hung their heads, but Alec didn't feel like talking to either of them. Instead, he went over to Sam and sat next to his big brother. He wished Sam was awake so he'd have someone to talk to. Well, actually it would be more Sam trying to get him to talk and him brushing it off and saying that he was fine. But Sam would know he wasn't fine and he'd do whatever he could to make it better.

"Sam…I need you to wake up now," Alec murmured, feeling like the little brother that he was. Sitting up was really starting to be uncomfortable and he was really getting tired. He looked over at Dozer and Zip and said, "Might as well relax…find a way out…in a little while…" Alec stretched out next to Sam and mumbled, "Guess since you're…sleeping on the job…I will too…" And he was out within second.

* * *

Dean reacted instinctively when he saw the floor that Max was standing on start to crumble. He dove forward and slid to the edge, just barely catching Max's wrist in time. His shoulder dislocated as he suddenly took on her full weight and he felt Max's wrist pop out of place, but he held on.

They were hanging over the middle of the main room. An average looking man with dark eyes was looking up at them. There were five other guys all wearing suits and each holding a gun on the members of the recon team.

Cam suddenly appeared at Dean's side and together they quickly pulled Max back up to their floor and they instantly took cover. From where they were they could see what was going on, on the floor below them but they couldn't be hit. Max gingerly rubbed her wrist and shot Dean a look of thanks. Dean shrugged back, but then winced a little at the movement.

"Enough playing games 452," The average looking man called up. Dean assumed that this was Ames White.

"Let the kids go and then we'll talk," Max called back.

"I told your boyfriend that you had until midnight and then I would start killing. It's almost midnight so if you give yourself up, I'll let everyone go," White offered.

Max looked over at Dean and he instantly shook his head no. Max thought for a moment and then asked, "How do I know you're gonna keep your word?"

"You don't. But that's the best offer your kind is going to get," White answered with a sneer. Max didn't answer and White seemed to be getting impatient. Dean could hear the aggravation in his voice as he spoke to someone on the other floor, but he couldn't make out exactly what was being said. From where they were sitting, they could suddenly see White roughly drag Tasha to her feet.

Tasha stared straight ahead and refused to even acknowledge White.

"Last chance 452," White warned, pulling his gun and aiming it at Tasha. Max grabbed Dean's hand and squeezed hard. He squeezed back and tried to keep her next to him instead of what they both wanted to do.

"Time's up," White stated and then pulled the trigger.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	10. Chapter 10

Tasha's legs collapsed beneath her and she fell to the floor, a pool of blood forming beneath her head. Dean swallowed hard, but forced himself to remain under cover. Max started to stand, but he immediately pulled her back down. They wouldn't do anyone any good by just storming down there; they would just get themselves killed and probably the hostages too.

Max spun back towards him and glared, angry tears filling her eyes. Dean felt the same anger, but he refused to let it control him.

"Huh…I thought that was going to work…" White muttered, almost to himself. Then it sounded like he was speaking to one of his henchmen, "Get another one up."

Dean peeked around the edge of his cover and saw that one of the familiars was starting to pull Dalton to his feet. Dean almost panicked at seeing the kid getting pulled up to be the next to go. Dalton almost hero-worshiped Alec; he would follow Alec around command and would do anything Alec told him to do. He was a smart kid and he knew Alec would be devastated if something happened to him or to any of the kids down there. Dean wouldn't be able to bear it either; he'd taught a couple of them how to play poker and he'd be damned if White took any of them away.

"I'm surprised at you 452," White drawled in his slimy voice. Dean was starting to get the impression that the guy really just liked to hear himself talk. "I didn't think you would just let one of your precious freaks die…guess I'll just get rid of another one then."

White aimed his gun at Dalton who was standing almost at attention, with his head held high. Dean couldn't stop himself this time. Without coming up with a better plan, and without really thinking about what he was doing, he stood and ran to where the floor had fallen through. He launched himself over the edge aiming for White.

Dean landed right on top of White, causing both of them to crash to the ground and making the gun fly out of White's hand. Dean almost groaned at the pain that immediately sprung up, but he pushed it out of his mind for now.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw that Max had followed him over the edge and had tackled one of the other guys to the ground. Dean got to his feet as fast as he could and ran over to Dalton, ignoring White for now. He cut the rope that was tied around the kid's hands, but then had to shove him out of the way as a familiar ran towards them.

He ducked under the punch that the guy threw and kicked the guy in the back. He stumbled forward, but caught himself and turned back to Dean. The guy charged at him and Dean ducked his shoulder and the guy went flying over his back.

Dean took a second to look for Max and saw that she was in the middle of fighting another familiar. But the guy grabbed her already hurt wrist and twisted.

"Max! Duck!" Dean yelled. She instantly dropped down and Dean threw his knife hard at the guy. It landed with a thud in the guy's chest. He looked down in surprise at the knife that was sticking out of him and then fell to the ground.

As soon as Dean let go of the knife, another familiar was behind him and got him in a headlock. He tried to pull the guy's arm off of him, but he wouldn't budge. Dean saw through blurry eyes the guy that he'd hit with the knife crumble to the ground. Max pulled the knife from him and then turned to face Dean. She tossed the knife to him before she had to fight off another of White's men.

Dean caught the knife and then stabbed it into the guy's arm that was cutting off his air. He was immediately released, but the guy was already coming at him again. He faced off with the guy, but a second later was tackled to the ground. White had come out of nowhere and plowed right into him.

Dean slowly got his feet back under him and stood to face White. His eyes were narrowed and it looked like he was sizing him up and trying to figure out who he was at the same time.

"You must be a clone of 494," White said in disgust.

"What clued you in?" Dean asked sarcastically.

White snarled, but there was suddenly gunfire that managed to draw Dean's attention for just a fraction of a second. White took his distraction and lunged into action. Luckily, Dean saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and turned just in time to block White's punch.

White instantly followed up with hit after hit and Dean blocked as many as he could, but he didn't block them all. His shoulder was already dislocated and White took advantage of his injury. Dean took a hard punch to his jaw that threw him to the floor. He just barely rolled out of the way of a kick to his ribs, but he wasn't so lucky on the second kick, or the third.

Dean gasped as he felt a few of his ribs break and immediately tried to protect them instead of his head. White took the opening and tried to deliver a hard kick aimed at Dean's nose, but Dean moved just in time to only get grazed on his cheek. White kicked him hard again on the ribs and his vision was really starting to go in and out. He was barely able to breathe or see and he knew his fight was going to be over soon.

Distantly, Dean heard the front door crash open and then a second later he was being pulled to his feet and held upright. His vision wouldn't focus for the first few seconds, so he didn't immediately know what was going on. Once he could see what was going on he didn't really feel all that relieved.

Mole and his team were standing right inside the room, guns pointed at White and his familiars. Dean tried to look around at his own team and saw that some of them were down and that Max was being held hostage just like he was. He was relieved to see that Dalton and the kids were still alive, but they were also being held hostage so they still weren't safe.

White was the only thing holding him up, and Dean didn't know how, but White had managed to get a gun and was currently holding it against him.

Dean expected either Mole to start making demands or White to just start yammering away again. He did not expect Mole to suddenly shift his aim and fire. Dean felt a burning in his dislocated shoulder and he heard White curse. He didn't really manage to put two and two together until he had been released. His legs collapsed and he heard a lot of gunfire this time, but he didn't think he'd be much help.

Mole had shot him! The bullet had gone straight through to hit White behind him, but that didn't change the fact that Mole had shot him! He couldn't dwell on that fact for very long though. The fight was still going on and he was currently in the middle of the room.

A hand suddenly grabbed his arm and he tried to throw them off until he realized it was Max. She was bleeding heavily from a deep cut on her forehead and her wrist looked terrible, but he was glad to see her. She tugged on his arm again and he made a small sound of pain. She was pulling on his hurt arm.

"C'mon, we gotta get to cover," Max said to him when he looked up at her in confusion.

Dean tried to shake out the fog in his head. There weren't out of this fight yet and he couldn't just sit here and be useless. He managed to get to his feet with Max's help and held his injured arm against his broken ribs to hopefully protect both of them.

Max started to lead him to cover, but he stopped and scooped up a gun on his way. He didn't want to be completely defenseless.

"What about the kids?" Dean asked over the gunfire.

"They're already over here!" Max yelled to be heard.

"Where's White?" Dean asked as they both ducked behind an old sofa. Dean saw Dalton and the others in a little room off to the side, safe from all the gunfire.

Max shrugged, "Don't know. I think I saw him busting through a window, but I don't know."

It was only a few minutes later and the gunfire died down. Dean peeked out from behind the sofa and saw that Mole and his team were all standing. Four of White's guys were down, but it looked like White was gone.

Dean forced himself up and Max stood with him, offering support if he needed it.

"Who's down?" Max asked as they made their way over to the others.

"Tasha's dead, the rest are just injured," Mole reported. He turned to Dean and said, "Sorry 'bout shootin' ya. Thought it would give us the element of surprise."

Dean just glared at him, too tired to get back at him right now, but he wouldn't forget this. Instead he just mumbled, "Too bad you didn't actually kill White…"

It was Mole's turn to glare, but he let it go for now and started helping the other injured to the truck. Dean looked around the room, trying to find where Sam and Alec might be. Everything had happened so fast, he didn't think they had been in the fight but he could have missed them.

When he didn't see them, he started to look for the stairs to the basement. Max followed him; it seemed like she was just sticking around to make sure he didn't collapse, but she didn't stop him from his search.

He started opening doors when he didn't immediately find the stairs. He was starting to get desperate. Alec and Sam would have been here; they would have never missed the fight unless they couldn't get to it. He needed to find them and make sure they were ok.

"What are you looking for?" Max finally asked.

"The basement," Dean said shortly. His ribs were killing him and maybe she knew where the stairs were. If asking for help got him to his brothers faster, then he would do it.

Max's eyes widened in understanding and she spun around, scanning the room for Alec. When she didn't see him, she ran over to a door on the other side of the room. She seemed to know where things were and so Dean followed her. She had just gotten the door open when Dean got there and they both stared in horror at what they found.

The stairs went down for a little and then were completely blocked. It would be a miracle if Sam and Alec had survived the explosion and hadn't been crushed by all the debris. But they were also trapped. Dean just prayed that they could hold on until he got to them.

* * *

Alec startled awake at the sound of gunfire. He had no idea how long it'd been and there was no way of knowing what was going on upstairs.

"What's…going on?" Alec gasped out even though he doubted that Dozer or Zip would know what was actually going on. He was disappointed to realize that his chest felt even tighter than it had earlier.

"Sounds like the fight's started…" Zip said glancing up to the ceiling.

"You alright?" Dozer asked in concern. Alec just nodded back, saving his breath.

He checked on Sam and found that he was the same as he was when Alec had fallen asleep. He forced himself to his feet and scanned the small area that they were trapped in. He didn't immediately see a way out, but there had to be one somewhere. And if he couldn't find one, then Dean would get them out.

Alec started to slowly climb up a pile of debris and tried to find a good spot to try and break through. He was able to move a few things, but the chunks of wood were too heavy for him and lifting them just about killed his chest.

"Alec, why don't you come back down here?" Dozer sort of asked, sort of suggested.

"No," Alec replied, moving to another spot that was hopefully weaker. And maybe it wouldn't have as many big chunks of wood. He had to stop every few seconds to catch his breath and he didn't get much further in his new spot than in his old one.

Alec sat back a little after a few minutes; his breathing was coming out in short gasps and his forehead was starting to sweat. This was a lot harder than he thought it was going to be. But he didn't want to give up yet; he hated sitting around and he hated missing the fight even more. A quiet groan was the only thing that managed to catch his attention.

"Looks like Sam's starting to come 'round," Dozer called out.

Alec slid down the pile as fast as he could, but that stirred up a ton of dust and made him start coughing and wheezing. He couldn't catch his breath and he felt himself fall to his knees.

"Slow down Alec," Dozer suddenly said next to him, rubbing circles on his back.

Alec tried to breathe in through his nose and out through his mouth, nice and slow. It took him a few minutes to finally be able to breathe easier and another few minutes after that to be able to see again.

"Thanks," Alec breathed out, letting Dozer help him to his feet. He staggered his way over to Sam who was just starting to come around. Alec dropped down next to him and put his hand against Sam's chest so he knew he wasn't alone.

Sam's eyes fluttered open and he looked around, confused. He looked worried until his eyes landed on Alec and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Sam asked. He started to try to sit up, but Alec put a little pressure on his chest and kept him lying down.

"Explosion…took out the stairs…" Alec said, trying to hide how much trouble he was having breathing and failing miserably.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked in concern, easily removing Alec's hand from his chest this time and sitting up.

"Just some…bruises…" Alec muttered, trying to stop Sam from checking him over. He instantly lost that battle; Sam grabbed his wrist to keep him from getting in his way. Sam barely pressed against his chest and Alec couldn't help his small gasp of pain.

"Alec…" Sam said in sympathy.

"'S not…so bad…" Alec tried to reassure; it definitely didn't help that he couldn't even say one whole sentence. Sam just scowled at him, but he looked away at the sound of gunfire.

He started to stand, but as soon as he was on his feet he swayed and collapsed back to the ground. "I think we're gonna have to sit out for this fight," Sam muttered.

Sam started to look around at their confined space and Alec supplied, "We're trapped…"

"Then get your ass over her and let me look you over," Sam said. Alec glared at him, but didn't have the air or the strength to argue. He scooted over to Sam and he gently lifted his shirt. "Alec…" Sam whispered. He reached out and barely touched Alec's chest, but even that was painful.

Sam opened his mouth to say something, but Alec cut him off, "Can't we just…wait to be rescued?"

Sam gave him a small smile and then nodded. He scooted back until he was leaning against a pile of rubble and motioned for Alec to come over there too. Alec looked at him like he was crazy, but then gave in and crawled over to Sam.

"Not a word…to Dean…" Alec breathed out, leaning against his big brother.

"We're trapped, I'm dizzy and you can't breathe, so I think we get a free pass," Sam said with a smile.

"Sam…" Alec mumbled after a few minutes.

"Yeah?" Sam asked quietly.

"I'm really glad…you're ok," Alec said, his eyes starting to slip closed again. He couldn't hear any fighting from upstairs anymore. He had to believe that Dean was alright and that he was going to come find them.

"I'm really glad you're ok too," Sam replied, his arm tightening around Alec's shoulders.

* * *

"Sit down and shut up or else you're going back on the truck with everyone else," Max said in a stern voice, steering him over to the sofa that they'd used for cover just a little while before.

Dean reluctantly sat down and let Max help him out of his jacket. She started taking off his outer shirt when she grumbled, "How many layers do you wear?" Dean just rolled his eyes and started bouncing his leg up and down. He wanted Max to hurry up so he could start help looking for his brothers.

Max suddenly ripped his t-shirt sleeve. "Hey!" Dean yelled at her and she looked up at him; her eyebrows drawn together practically screaming 'so? What're you gonna do about it?' "This was a good shirt…" Dean finally grumbled.

Max's mouth popped open and she shook her head at him, "You got shot! Your stupid t-shirt already had a hole in it."

"I coulda fixed that hole!" Dean grumbled; wincing when Max started wrapping gauze tightly around his shoulder. "OW!" Dean yelled at her when she moved his arm to get a better angle.

"Sorry!" Max said in aggravation. "I forgot…" Before he even knew what was happening, Max pulled hard on his arm and popped his shoulder back into place.

Dean yelled in surprise pain and then said, "A little warning would be nice…"

"Well, it's over now and we're done," Max said with a forced smile. "We can go help look now."

Dean sighed and then grabbed Max's good wrist to stop her. He sat her down and this time it was his turn to surprise her. He popped her wrist back into place without warning. She gave a little gasp of surprise and then glared at him. He smirked and ignored her as he started wrapping her wrist. He was quick wrapping it and then stuck some butterfly band aids on the cut on her forehead and then he was done.

"Now we can go look," Dean said.

They both got up and went over to where Mole was leading a search and rescue team. They hadn't gotten far and Dean knew that he and Max wouldn't actually be much help.

"Where are we at?" Max asked as they walked up.

"Can't find a good spot to break through," Mole grumbled. "Every time we start digging, the floor gets too weak and it all starts to collapse."

"Have you been able to talk to any of them?" Max asked.

"No. Haven't heard a peep, but that doesn't mean they aren't there," Mole tried to reassure.

Dean thought for a second and then pulled out his cell phone; it was probably a long shot, but it didn't hurt to try. He pushed the number to call Sam and waited.

* * *

"S'm…" Alec mumbled, making Sam startle awake.

"What!?" Sam asked, trying to calm down so he didn't cause Alec any pain.

"Phone…" Alec mumbled. He didn't make any move to actually get up so Sam had to shift around a little to get his phone out of his pocket.

"Yeah?" Sam answered without checking the caller ID. He was really just surprised that he had service down here and that his phone had survived the explosion.

"Jeez, took ya long enough," Dean's voice suddenly came through and relief washed through him.

"Dean," Sam breathed out.

"You alright?" Dean asked before Sam could say anything else.

"Yeah, you?" Sam asked back, hoping that Dean would give him the truth.

"How's Alec? Is he with you?" Dean asked instead of answering.

"He's here…we could all use some fresh air," Sam replied. "Now answer my question."

"Shoulder's a little messed up and ribs are a little tender, but we won," Dean finally replied.

"You gonna get us outta here any time soon?" Sam teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"Working on it," Dean said and Sam could hear the small smile in his voice. He still sounded tense, but Sam knew he would be relieved to just hear from him. "You guys all able to move?"

Sam hesitated and then hedged, "Not very fast…"

Dean took a deep breath and then said, "We're trying to get you guys out, but every time we start digging it starts to cave in. Just keep an eye out ok?"

"Alright…just try to hurry," Sam wanted to give his brother a heads up that he and Alec were both hurt without actually telling him. And he wanted to get out of there so he could make sure Dean was ok.

"I will. Take care of yourself and Alec," Dean said and then continued, "Gotta go, talk to ya again soon." And then he hung up.

Sam looked down and saw that Alec still had his eyes closed, but he knew that his little brother had heard the entire conversation. He was proven right a second later when Alec mumbled, "Glad to…hear from him…he's ok…"

"Yeah, he's ok," Sam agreed. "He's gonna get us out of here…"

"I know…" Alec breathed out and then fell asleep again.

* * *

"They're alive," Dean said, even though he knew it wasn't necessary. Max had stood by him and hung on to every word that was said.

"Alright people! Let's get back to work!" Max called out to everyone who was standing around.

Dean started to move to help, but Max caught his arm. It was hit bad arm and he let out a little squeak of pain.

Max groaned, "Sorry, I keep forgetting…" She disappeared for a second and then came back carrying his jacket and over shirt. She started tying the sleeves of his shirt together and then looped it over his head.

"I don't need this…" Dean mumbled as Max put his arm in her makeshift sling.

"Yea, you do," Max argued. "This will keep you from lifting things and it'll remind me to not keep grabbing that arm."

Dean grumbled some more but he didn't take off the sling. He hated not being able to help, but he knew he would just slow them down. But that didn't mean he was just sitting there waiting for someone else to rescue his brothers. He analyzed the structure before they started to try and break through and he kept an eye on things to make sure it wouldn't collapse. Max stayed next to him and helped keep everyone in line.

"You know I can handle this right?" Mole grumbled after a few minutes of Dean and Max taking control. "You two should be looked over by medical anyway…"

"I wonder why?" Dean said sarcastically. "It might be because someone shot me!"

"It's just a flesh wound…You're gonna have to get over that Pretty Boy," Mole replied with a smirk.

"Isn't that the name you gave Alec?" Dean teased.

Mole glared at him, "You two look alike so get over it."

Dean chuckled just a little and then said, "Get back to work Lizard-Man."

Mole just looked at him, "That's the best you got?"

"What? You want me to call you something less obvious, like Poker Face…wait never mind that one's pretty obvious too…Especially since you don't actually have a poker face…" Dean said, pretending to think.

"I'd shoot you right now, if I hadn't already put one hole through ya," Mole stated.

"Would you two stop," Max said, but she couldn't hide her smile. "Time to get back to work Mole."

Mole switched his glare to her instead, but eventually went back to moving debris.

"Guess this whole thing coulda gone worse…" Dean finally muttered to Max. They didn't really have anything to do and for some reason he just wanted to talk.

"Coulda gone better…" Max whispered back and Dean knew she was thinking of Tasha.

"I'm sorry…" Dean had to clear his throat to get the rest out, "I'm sorry about Tasha…"

Max took a deep breath, "Me too…I don't know how I'm going to tell Ryan…" Dean looked at her in confusion so she continued, "Her and Ryan were together. Have been for a while now…actually they might have been together even at Manticore…"

"Oh…" Dean said in response.

"Yeah," Max breathed out.

"But we got the kids out…that's what Tasha would've wanted," Dean said after a moment.

"Yeah, it is," Max agreed.

"I hate waiting," Dean grumbled when Max didn't say anything else. Max smiled a little, but she still didn't say anything. He had to do something or else he was going to go crazy. He thought about calling Sam again just so he could have someone to talk to, but he didn't want to kill their batteries in case they really needed them later.

Sam would love this; he actually wanted to talk to someone, but no one would talk to him. Sam was always trying to get him to share his feelings and he was always brushing him off. Alec was kind of the same way as him and Dean wondered how they were getting along being trapped together.

"No!" Mole suddenly shouted, making Dean and Max look up in alarm. Mole reached out and pulled Penny back and they both fell back; the floor in front of them caving in.

* * *

Alec suddenly sat bolt upright and Sam looked at him in alarm. He clutched his chest, but looked up at the ceiling. He was scrambling to his feet and pulling Sam up before Sam even knew what was going on.

"Move!" Alec tried to yell. Dozer seemed to get the message though and helped Zip move out of the way.

Sam looked up just in time to see the ceiling collapsing right where they'd been seconds before. The ceiling kept falling though and they were running out of space to move. Sam suddenly threw up his arm and turned to shield him and Alec from the falling debris.

The stuff finally stopped falling and dust filled the air. Sam and Alec both started coughing, but Alec was more like wheezing than coughing. Sam rubbed Alec's back as he looked around their new space. It was a lot smaller now than it had been. There was pretty much only room for the four of them to sit down and that was it.

"You alright?" Sam asked Alec when it looked like his breathing wasn't going to get better. Alec just nodded, starting to bend over. Sam forced him back up straight, "It'll be easier to breathe this way."

Alec tried to glare at him, but then held out Sam's phone. The kid had pickpocketed him and he hadn't even noticed. Sam gave him a bitch face and grabbed the phone out of Alec's hand.

Dean's phone seemed to barely ring once before he picked up, "Sam?!"

"We're alright," Sam immediately said to ease Dean's worry. "What happened?"

"The floor was too unstable…we're gonna have to start over again," Dean said; defeat starting to creep in his voice.

"It's alright, Dean, we're alright," Sam tried to reassure. "At least you guys know you're digging in the right spot," Sam joked when Dean didn't say anything.

"Yeah…I guess…" Dean muttered.

"Dean, we're gonna be fine," Sam said softly.

"Sam…"

"No Dean. Listen to me. You're gonna get us out of here and we'll be fine," Sam said desperately. He couldn't let Dean think anything else.

Dean took a deep breath and Sam thought he was probably nodding to himself. "Yeah…You guys just hang in there ok?"

"We will," Sam promised. Dean hung up on him before he could say anything else. "Dammit Dean," Sam muttered as soon as Dean hung up.

"He's worried," Alec whispered, starting to lower himself to the ground again. He put a hand to his chest once he was sitting and grimaced in pain.

"You alright?" Sam asked even though he already knew what Alec's answer was going to be.

"'M fine," Alec answered and Sam sat down next to him. Alec leaned against him again without Sam even making him do it. He couldn't help feeling overjoyed that Alec trusted him enough to be vulnerable around him.

"Dean told me…you were afraid of…clowns. True?" Alec asked, looking up at Sam curiously.

Sam chuckled, "Yeah, I'm afraid of clowns. But Dean's afraid of flying."

Alec huffed out a laugh, "I know…pointed out a plane…and he shuddered…"

Sam sort of put two and two together and figured out that Alec hadn't dropped the fact that he knew this. Instead, he'd been bringing it up until Dean finally told him about Sam's fear of clowns, hoping to direct Alec onto a new path. "So that's why Dean told you I'm afraid of clowns."

Alec rolled his head over and smirked at Sam. "Why are you…'fraid of them?"

Sam laughed, "I'm not answering that question…and enough about clowns! Talk about something else."

Alec kind of groaned and then asked, "Why's Dean…'fraid of flying?"

"Planes crash is what he told me," Sam said with a smile, remembering when they took down that demon on the plane. Dean had been a mess, but they'd gotten the job done.

"So do cars," Alec argued.

"Yeah, but Dean's driving so he's in control and he's on the ground. With flying, someone else is in control and he's really high up," Sam said and Alec sort of nodded. "What about you?" Sam asked after a few minutes. Alec looked at him in confusion so Sam clarified, "What are you afraid of?"

Alec was quiet and Sam almost thought he was going to refuse to answer, but then he whispered, "Small spaces…"

"Is this space too small?" Sam asked curiously.

Alec shook his head no, "I can still move…Manticore used to use…small spaces as punishment…for insubordination…"

"Remind me when we get out of this to tell Max thanks," Sam said. Alec rolled his head and glanced up at Sam again, silently asking him why?

"She got you out of there," Sam said quietly. Alec didn't say anything in reply and Sam almost thought he'd said too much. But he looked down and saw that Alec had a small smile on his face.

* * *

"This is taking forever," Dean muttered to Max after they'd been digging again for a few hours.

"They're just being extra careful so we don't have another repeat," Max replied.

"I just want them out of there," Dean confessed quietly.

"Me too," Max whispered.

They stood there quietly, just watching the progress. Dean had paced for a while, but Max had stopped him. She had looked like she wanted to pace, but Dean wouldn't let her either; if he couldn't pace, then neither could she.

"Alec?!" Mole suddenly called out, drawing Dean and Max closer to the rescue.

Dean almost shoved Mole out of the way, but luckily Mole moved before he could. He almost had to crawl to get to the hole that the team had made, but it was worth it. As soon as he made it to the hole he saw Sam and Alec sitting and leaning against each other. Dozer and Zip were sitting near them, but Dean was mainly just focusing on his brothers.

Alec gave him a little wave, but didn't even try to move away from Sam and Sam just smiled up at him. Max crawled up next to him and surveyed the team for herself.

"It's good to see you guys," Dean called out.

"Good to see you too," Sam answered.

"Ryan?" Max suddenly asked and Dean realized that Ryan wasn't sitting there with the rest of them.

Alec shook his head no and Max hung her head. The only thing good from that was, at least Ryan and Tasha went together.

"Would you two move so we can actually get them out?" Mole suddenly interrupted.

Dean glared at him, but he and Max both moved after just a moment. Mole stepped up and Drizzle come forward carrying a harness. Mole lowered her down in the harness and Dean watched. He couldn't do anything as Drizzle went down there and helped Zip into the harness and then a group of transgenics pulled him up.

It seemed to take years for the others to bring Zip up and then even longer for Dozer. He started pacing when he heard that Sam was next. He could hardly breathe until Sam was finally pulled up. It took a second for him to untangle his long legs from the harness and then he was standing in front of Dean.

Dean pulled his brother into a tight, one-armed hug that Sam instantly returned. They stood there for a minute and then Dean took a step back and looked Sam over. He was covered in dirt and dust and he was swaying a bit, but he seemed to be ok.

"Alec wouldn't come up until everyone else was up," Sam explained quickly.

"That's alright, he's coming up now," Dean reassured.

"What happened to your arm?" Sam suddenly asked in concern.

"It's fine for now…I'll tell you once I know Alec's safe too," Dean hedged. He turned and saw that Max was pacing now and he and Sam both waited anxiously for Alec's return.

He was brought up a minute later and Sam moved to help him get out of the harness. Alec was actually dirtier than Sam was and he was moving pretty slowly. Sam got Alec free and then helped him over to where Dean and Max were waiting.

Dean was about to pull Alec into a hug, but Max beat him to it. She crushed him against him and Dean saw him wince, but he put his arms around her and closed his eyes. Max released him a second later and he didn't seem quite ready for it, but he stayed on his feet. Dean pulled him into a gentler hug and Alec almost collapsed against him.

Dean stepped back after a moment and looked at Sam, Alec, and Max. They were all dirty and hurt, but they were alive.

* * *

 _More soon...(also, the next chapter will probably be the last for this story)_


	11. Chapter 11

_So here it is, the last chapter! Thank you everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited and to everyone who read! It really means a lot and I hope you all enjoyed the story! There will be more to come so if you liked this, then keep a lookout!_

* * *

"What happened…to your arm?" Alec asked after Dean released him, forgetting that he could hardly breathe and he wanted to keep that fact to himself.

"What's wrong with you?" Dean asked instead, his eyes narrowing in concern. Max spun back towards him and she did a quick scan to see what she'd missed. Alec regretted opening his mouth.

"He's alright for now," Sam suddenly defended, making Alec look at him in surprise. He was pretty sure that Sam would immediately tell Dean instead of deflecting for later. "Let's just get back to command."

"Fine," Dean relented, leading the way out of the house.

"What about Ryan?" Alec asked, unwilling to leave his fallen team member behind.

"Mole and his team will get him out," Max reassured, coming up to walk next to him while Sam caught up with Dean.

"You alright?" Alec asked as they both started walking. Alec noticed the band aids on her forehead and her wrapped wrist.

"Yeah, fine," Max said simply. She seemed mad; she wasn't looking at him, but she was still walking with him. And he was going pretty slowly, so that was something.

"You get the team?" Alec asked, trying to figure out what was bothering her.

She sort of nodded, "Everyone but Tasha…"

"'M sorry Max," Alec said quietly. He knew she would take the loss hard, but at least Ryan and Tasha went together.

"I'm sorry about Ryan too…I know he was a friend of yours," Max said; she sounded sincere, but Alec still got the vibe that she was mad about something.

"You're gonna have to…clue me in…on what's wrong…" Alec muttered after a minute. He slowed down some more and saw Sam and Dean glance back at him. He nodded his head for them to keep going, that he would catch up in a minute.

"You're hurt and you're leaving," Max said simply. "And I don't know what we are, but I was worried about you." She groaned in aggravation and then stopped walking completely. Alec stopped too and faced her.

"Max," he said on a breath. "I'm alright…and I'll be back…" She looked up at him with her big, brown eyes and Alec smiled a little. "Can we talk about this…when I can actually breathe…and argue with you?"

Max let out a surprised laugh and then said, "Sorry, yes we can talk about this when you can breathe again."

She started to walk again and Alec walked beside her. He didn't know what they were either, but he couldn't ignore the fact that he liked her. She was beautiful, smart, and a freakin' badass, he just didn't know if she actually liked him too or if she was just really happy to see that he was alive.

Instead of thinking too much about it though, Alec reached out and grabbed Max's hand in his own. She looked over at him in surprise, but she didn't let go of his hand. Instead, she intertwined her fingers with his and they held hands as they walked.

"You were worried…'bout me?" Alec asked with a small smile after they had walked for a few minutes.

"With good reason!" Max said, but she was smiling just a little bit. "What did you even do to yourself?"

"Big hunk of wood…landed on me…from the explosion," Alec replied. "What happened…to your wrist?"

"The floor collapsed from the explosion and Dean caught me," Max said. "He's stubborn, did you know that?"

Alec couldn't help but laugh at that and then had to stop with a hand against his chest. His chest really hurt, but he couldn't stop the laughter. Max was practically preaching to the choir telling him that Dean was stubborn.

Max put a light hand against his back and crouched down to be eyelevel with him. "Alec, what's so funny?! Try to stop laughing…"

"Sorry…" Alec gasped, tears almost leaking out of his eyes. "'S just funny…you tellin' me…Dean's stubborn…" Alec started laughing again. Max suddenly stood and started to storm off, but Alec tried to stop her, "Max, wait!" His voice was hardly above a whisper, but she stopped and came back. "'M sorry…'s just funny…"

She glared at him, but grabbed his hand again and started walking. He stumbled along for a few steps, but then he slowly started walking again.

"How will I know you're ok while you're gone?" Max asked quietly.

"I'll call," Alec promised.

"Where are you guys gonna go?" Max just couldn't stop her curiosity.

Alec shrugged back.

"What are you guys gonna do?"

Alec groaned, "Max…focus on walking now…questions later…"

She kind of pouted, but she finally walked in silence. Alec was grateful for the silence; his laughing seemed to have made his chest feel even worse and it was taking all of his focus just to stay upright. It took them a long time, but they finally caught up to Sam and Dean and the trucks that would take them back to command.

"Why couldn't we…move the truck…closer…" Alec complained as Sam gave him a hand up into the truck.

"I know kiddo," Dean said sympathetically. "But we'll get back to command soon, get patched up, and get a good night's sleep."

"Sounds good to me," Alec mumbled back, feeling like they should skip right to the sleep part. He leaned back his head and decided that he would just doze off on the way back.

* * *

"Looks like you've got a pretty good concussion," Ray said, shifting his flashlight from one eye to another. Sam tried to get away from the light that hurt his eyes, but he knew it was for his own good.

Alec had fallen asleep on the way back and Sam had just carried him to the med house instead of waking him up. Max had to go to command to make sure everything was still running smoothly. Once Sam and Dean had reached the med house, Sam put Alec on one of the beds while Ray had come over from checking on Dozer and Zip. Ray had taken care of Dean first since he had a bullet wound that he'd neglected to mention. Sam had glared at him for that, but Dean had just shrugged back.

Ray started telling him what he needed to do with his concussion, but he wasn't really listening. He already knew all of this, and even if he didn't, Dean was standing right there and he would make sure Sam followed the rules.

"Do you have any questions for me?" Ray asked when Sam didn't acknowledge his instructions.

"How's Alec?" Sam asked, even though he knew Ray meant if he had any questions about his own injuries.

Ray sighed, "I haven't looked him over yet, but I'm sure he's going to be alright."

"Shoulda just checked him first," Dean muttered under his breath. Sam almost smiled; he and Dean had both tried to get Ray to check Alec over first, especially while he was sleeping, but Ray had refused. He'd decided that Dean should be looked over first and that Alec should be left alone so he could rest.

Ray sighed again and started over to Alec. He did a quick check and then looked up at Sam and asked, "You said he couldn't breathe?"

Sam nodded, "He said something landed on him…"

"He was trapped under a huge chunk of wood. It took both of us to get it off of him," Dozer suddenly supplied from across the room.

Ray listened to Alec breathe for a few seconds, "He is having some difficulty, but I don't have the equipment to really see what's going on. For now though, I think if he takes it easy and rests, he should be ok. I'll keep an eye on him though."

Sam sort of huffed knowing that either he or Dean was going to stay up and make sure he was ok.

Dean just nodded though and clapped Ray on the shoulder, "Thanks Ray."

Ray smiled, "You know, I like you guys, but you're starting to become regulars…"

Dean chuckled, "Yeah that happens…"

"Get some rest. All three of you. Doctor's orders," Ray said, walking back to his office.

Sam immediately moved to the bed next to Alec's and stretched out; it'd been a long day and he was ready for some sleep.

"You gonna get some sleep?" Sam asked Dean, who hadn't moved from where he stood.

Dean shrugged with his good shoulder, "We'll see…I'll stay awake for a while and make sure Alec's ok."

"Well wake me up if you wanna get some sleep and you think Alec needs someone to look out for him," Sam replied, closing his eyes and drifting off.

* * *

Dean closed his eyes briefly in pain, his injuries starting to catch up to him. He slowly walked over to a chair and drug it to Sam and Alec's beds and sat down heavily. He dropped his head into his good hand and rested his elbow on his knee. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he couldn't stop the worry that crept up every time he even though about leaving Alec or Sam without his protection.

They both could have died today down in that basement and there was nothing he could have done about it. They were both hurt, and even though it wasn't life threatening he still hated it and he still worried.

"You look like shit," Max suddenly said, making Dean jump and look up in surprise.

"Thought you were doing something in command…" Dean mumbled, putting his head back in his hand.

"Finished early," Max replied with a shrug, sitting on the edge of Alec's bed.

"You were worried," Dean argued with a smirk.

"Fine. I was worried," Max said through clenched teeth and Dean smiled in victory. "…Is he gonna be ok?" Max asked quietly. Dean looked up and saw that she was looking down at Alec, a worried line appearing on her forehead.

"Yeah, he's gonna be fine," Dean replied.

Max huffed, "I hate this. He's going to leave and I'm going to be stuck here worrying about him, and I don't even know what you guys are doing." She looked over at him after she said that and then looked slightly embarrassed, "Sorry. I shouldn't be venting to you like this."

Dean let out a little smile, "Its ok. If I was in your shoes, I'd be pissed. But we are going to tell you what we do and he is going to come back."

"He said he'd call…" Max said almost sheepishly.

"So he took Sam's advice," Dean said with a smile, but Max looked at him in confusion, "He asked us what he should tell you."

"You guys really are his brothers," Max replied. "I'm sorry I was rude to you before."

Dean waved her off, "I was rude right back. It's just how we protect the people we care about."

Max nodded and then looked Dean over, "Why don't you get some sleep?"

"Nah, I'm still worried about them," Dean said, nodding to Sam and Alec.

"I can stay and watch over them," Max suggested.

"Aren't you tired?" Dean asked.

Max shook her head no, "Shark DNA makes it hard to sleep."

Dean pursed his lips and nodded and then asked, "You sure? You don't have anything else to do? Something in command-"

"I'm sure. If they need something in command, they can just call Mole," Max reassured.

"Alright," Dean said, getting up and walking over to the empty bed on the other side of Alec. "Wake me up if anything happens…"

"I will," Max reassured softly, and then Dean fell asleep.

* * *

Max was bored. Alec, Dean, and Sam had been sleeping for hours and she had been watching over them, but it was boring. Ray had come out and checked on them a few times, but he'd declared that they would be fine, and that they just needed rest.

While they had been sleeping, Max had gone through every possible option that she could think of for what they did for work. They traveled and it was dangerous, that was all she knew. She'd thought of pilots, extreme stunts, traveling mechanics, drug dealers, the list went on and on, but they were all ridiculous and they didn't explain everything she'd noticed about them.

She'd been tempted to just wake all three of them up and make them tell her what they did. But that wouldn't really help anything. She would just have to let her imagination run wild until they finally woke up.

Max was lying next to Alec, listening to him breathe while she thought about all of this. She wanted to believe that it didn't really matter what they did, but she hoped it was something somewhat legal at least. Or if it wasn't legal, she just hoped it wasn't too illegal. She could bend the rules now and then and she could get behind that as long as it didn't hurt other people.

She got up to pace, needing something to do, to move around and get her mind off of this. She didn't know what she would do if they were doing something that hurt people. She couldn't really see that being the case considering how nice they were to everyone in Freak Valley. They'd risked their lives to save some kids they barely knew. There was no way they could possibly do something that hurt people.

"Max?...What're you doing?" Alec asked quietly, his voice thick with sleep.

She spun around and returned to sitting next to him. He tried to sit up, but halfway up he grimaced and then lowered himself back down to the bed.

"How're you feeling?" Max asked softly.

"Chest still hurts," Alec admitted in a whisper.

Max reached out and gently touched Alec's cheek. He leaned into her touch and that made her smile. She couldn't believe that she didn't see it before; how caring he was, how loyal, and funny. All she had focused on was him being selfish or lazy; she just didn't want to see the real him. She didn't want to work past all of his barriers to get to know him. It was easier that way, but then she missed out on the wonderful man that he actually was.

"I'm sorry…for how I treated you before," Max said. Alec cocked his head to the side in confusion and Max sighed and then said. "I didn't bother getting to know you and I wish I would have."

"It's alright, Maxie," Alec said and she could see that he meant it. He didn't blame her for the way she treated him, he thought he deserved it.

"I want to try and make it up to you…if you'll let me," Max said hesitantly.

"What'd you have in mind?" Alec asked with a suggestive smile.

Max rolled her eyes and had to restrain herself from hitting him. Then she said playfully, "I would destroy you right now."

"I would rock your world Maxie," Alec said, but she could tell he was starting to drift off again.

"Sleep for now, we'll see about later," Max said with a smile, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

Alec gave her a small smile as he fell back to sleep.

* * *

It had been two days since their rescue mission. They had left the med house after the first day and then took it easy at the house they'd been staying at. Dean still had his arm in a sling, but Sam had been cleared, and Alec had been ordered to take it easy. He was breathing better, but Dean was still keeping a close eye on him.

Now they were all three sitting in the living room of their three bedroom house with Max pacing back and forth. They had a pretty nice setup considering they had only been there for almost two weeks. Max had found them a house after their second day in Freak Valley and Dean had to admit that it was pretty cozy. They each had their own room with a bed in it, they all shared one bathroom, and there was a kitchen and living room with all the furniture set up in it. There wasn't a TV, to Alec's disappointment, but it was still nicer than where they usually stayed.

Right now, Max was waiting for them to tell her what they did for a living. Dean had been putting off this conversation, unsure of how Max would take the information.

"We should just tell her," Alec said from the sofa. He was lounging across it with his feet across Sam's lap while Dean was sitting in the recliner next to them. Sam wasn't letting him or Alec out of his sight, so they were lounging while Max paced.

Dean shook his head no; he knew it was mean, but he wanted to draw this out a little. "What do you think we do?" Dean asked Max curiously.

Max stopped in her pacing to face the three of them. "I've thought of a million things that you guys could do!" She kind of gestured with her hands a lot, which was funny to Dean but he didn't point it out.

"What's you top ones?" Alec asked with a smirk and Max glared at him.

"Ok, so all I know is that you travel a lot and that your job is dangerous…" Max started out and Dean and Sam both nodded that what she said was true. "Extreme stunt people?" Sam kind of chuckled and Max shook her head. "Ok, I didn't really think that one..."

"What's another one?" Dean asked.

"Traveling mechanics. You know, because you guys have that nice car and Dean, you seem to know a lot about cars…I can't really see how that would be dangerous or how you could really be a traveling mechanic. Ok, another stupid one."

Dean smiled at her rambling and saw that Sam and Alec were both smiling too.

"Pilots?" Max asked hesitantly. Alec immediately burst out laughing; he had to curl in on himself and put a hand against his chest, he was laughing so hard. Sam was laughing too, but he had a hand on Alec's back to try and get him to calm down.

Dean just looked at Max like she was insane.

"Pilots?!" Alec finally managed to say in between laughs. "Dean, you wanna fly us somewhere?"

"I take that as a no to being pilots…" Max muttered under her breath.

Dean pointed at Alec, "You better knock it off or else you're not driving Baby for a month."

Alec still laughed though and Dean thought he'd probably say more if he could catch his breath. He'd probably think up a whole list of things that he thought was funny and wait until later to bring them up. He'd done that before when he'd figured out Dean was afraid of flying in the first place. The only way to get the kid to move on to something else was to tell him that Sam was afraid of clowns.

"Go ahead with the next one," Dean said over Alec's laughing.

"I really hope it's not this one, but if it is…" she didn't finish that thought and instead asked, "Drug dealers?"

Alec started laughing again and Dean groaned.

"No, we're not drug dealers," Sam answered around a chuckle.

"Good!" Max said in relief, "Although, that one does make the most sense. You guys know how to use guns, you know how to do medical stuff-" Max's mouth suddenly popped open and she said, "You guys are ex-military aren't you?!"

Alec was finally starting to sober up when Dean replied, "No, we're not ex-military. Our Dad was and he raised us like we were in the military."

"Ok, just tell me, what do you guys do?" Max finally asked; giving up and sitting in the other chair in the room.

"Promise you won't freak out," Alec said seriously. "It's gonna sound a little crazy, but it's true."

"Okay…" Max said slowly.

"We're hunters," Dean finally told her.

Max opened her mouth to say something, but Sam cut in, "Not the animal kind of hunters."

"We hunt spirits, ghosts, demons, pretty much anything supernatural," Dean finished. He and Sam had this explanation down, even though most people didn't believe them. Alec had been rare; he'd just taken the information in in stride and just went with it. They didn't even really have to prove it to him. It had almost seemed too easy and they had waited for the catch, but Alec still just went with anything they threw at him. It was amazing and it would be even more incredible if Max believed them too.

Max's eyebrows raised and she switched her focus between the three of them until she finally said, "You can't be serious!"

Alec sighed and dropped his feet to the floor to sit up, "Max, it's not that unbelievable…"

"Ghosts, Alec, ghosts aren't real," Max said.

"Yes, they are," Alec argued. Max opened her mouth to argue, but Alec cut her off, "We're clones Max! We shouldn't exist!"

"Science! We were created by science!" Max said, standing up and starting to pace again.

Alec groaned and then flopped back onto the sofa.

"Max," Dean said patiently, "We know this sounds insane, but it's true."

"Let's say for a second that I believe you. How would you _kill_ a ghost?" Max asked, sitting down again.

"You have to find the bones and then salt and burn them," Sam explained.

Max huffed in disbelief, "Salt! That was a rhetorical question! You can't kill something that's already dead!" She stood again and paced.

"I don't see why this is so hard to believe!" Alec said in aggravation, turning his head to look at Max.

"You sound insane Alec!" Max yelled.

"But I'm not!" Alec yelled back. He tried to get to his feet so he could face off with her, but Sam pulled him back down.

Max crossed her arms and then challenged, "So, you've seen a ghost."

"Yes," Alec replied steadily. "So far I've hunted ghosts and demons."

Max shook her head in annoyance and turned away from them.

"Max," Dean said quietly. "Do you trust us? You don't have to believe us, just think if you would trust us on a mission."

Max thought for a second and then said, "Yes, I do trust you."

"Do you think we would lie to you about this?" Dean asked seriously. Max looked at him, but she didn't say anything. "This is too big of a thing to lie about and you've got three people that you trust telling you that ghosts are real. The only way we can prove that this is real and that we're telling the truth is to take you on a hunt. But since we're kinda out of commission right now, it's not really possible."

Max took a deep breath and then slowly sat in her chair. "Ok, ok, yes I do trust you guys," Max said nodded slowly. "And if you all three say ghosts are real, then I guess I have no reason not to believe you." Dean thought that was probably the best they were going to get for now, but then Max suddenly pointed at them and said sternly, "If I find out you guys are playing a joke on me, I'll kick all of your asses."

"Understood," Dean said with a smile.

"Do you guys mind if I talk to Alec alone for a little bit?" Max asked quietly. Alec collapsed back onto the sofa and stared at the ceiling.

"Yeah, c'mon Sam, I told Mole I'd help him in command before we left anyway," Dean said as he stood up and headed for the door. Sam looked at Alec before he reluctantly followed.

"You think she believes us?" Sam asked once they were out of transgenic earshot of the house.

Dean shrugged his good shoulder, "Don't know…She will eventually though. Could you imagine if we got the transgenics to be hunter!?" He didn't know why he didn't think of it sooner; transgenics would be the perfect hunters with their speed and military training. Alec had picked up hunting faster than anyone Dean knew and if he could get Bobby down here to help them…the supernatural world wouldn't know what hit it.

"They would be pretty good at it…" Sam muttered in thought.

"…Get Bobby down here to train them and convince them that ghosts are real. Alec was so much easier to convince that Max was. We just told him ghosts were real and he just said ok," Dean said without stopping.

"We wouldn't force them to be hunters. It has to be their choice," Sam said, not really listening to Dean either.

"They still have a lot to do here, but maybe once they're set up a few of them can go out and if they like it they can get the others," Dean said, thinking out loud.

"Wait," Sam suddenly said, making Dean stop. "Do you have a hunt lined up? For us?"

Dean hesitated, if he told Sam yes then he would be pissed but if he said no then there was no reason for them to leave tomorrow.

"Dean," Sam warned, he probably already knew what was coming which was why he asked.

"Yes Sam, ok, I have a hunt lined up for us," Dean admitted and Sam looked about ready to start yelling so Dean motioned for him to calm down. "It's all the way in Pennsylvania, so it'll take us a few days to get there and I don't even know what it is yet, so that'll give us probably another week of rest."

Sam chewed his lip, trying to decide whether he should be mad or not.

"It might not even be a case, but I can't sit around anymore," Dean tried to explain; he hated it when Sam was mad at him.

"Ok…" Sam finally relented. "But we're not going in until we know for sure what it is we're up against _and_ I give you and Alec the all clear."

"Deal," Dean said with a smile. He was just happy they would be getting on the road again and back to hunting. He liked Freak Valley, but it was time to go.

* * *

Alec stayed where he was, lying on the sofa and staring at the ceiling. He really didn't want to have this conversation with Max. She thought he was crazy and now she was going to ask him a million questions about it. He didn't know why it was so hard for her to believe; he hadn't really questioned it at all and then he'd been given proof that it was real.

"Alec…" Max said softly, trying to get him to look over at her but he remained in the same position. She huffed a little when she didn't get her way and he couldn't help the small smile that crossed his lips. "Alec," Max tried again, almost demanding that he pay attention to her.

"What do you want me to say, Max?" Alec finally asked, sitting up and looking over at her.

She stood up and started pacing and Alec tried not to groan; he hated it when she paced. "That is not a job!" Max said angrily.

"It is a job!" Alec yelled back.

"Do you get paid to do this?" Max asked in disbelief, stopping her pacing and challenging him with her hands on her hips.

"No Max! We don't get paid," Alec said, standing up to face her.

Max shook her head, "That actually doesn't surprise me."

"We're saving people, Max!" Alec almost yelled, getting right in Max's face.

Max didn't say anything to that; she just looked at him. They were barely an inch apart; their fighting bringing them closer. Alec suddenly closed that distance and crushed his lips against hers. She instantly responded by putting her arms around his neck and bringing him closer. He placed one of his hands on her hip and put the other one on the small of her back.

He tilted his head a little and she parted her lips just a little more. She started trying to get his outer shirt off of him, but she was having some trouble. He tried to help a little, but he didn't want to break off their kiss. She broke it off though and he groaned with the loss.

"Stupid layers! Why do you even wear so many…" Max grumbled in aggravation.

Alec finally shrugged out of his shirt and then pulled off his t-shirt. Max looked him over with almost hungry eyes and he smirked at her. He grabbed her again and pulled her shirt off of her too, leaving her in her bra and leaving their shirts on the floor.

He started kissing her again and they slowly started to move down the hall. He kissed her lips and then started to trail kisses across her jaw and down her neck to her collarbone. He grazed her skin lightly with his teeth and she shivered.

She took a deep breath and pushed him against the wall. She must not have realized how hard she pushed him, but it definitely hurt and he pulled away from her and looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"Ow!" Alec complained when she looked at him in curiosity. "Easy!"

"Thought you were gonna rock my world?" Max challenged.

"I am! I just didn't think you would actually try to destroy me," Alec replied angrily.

Max rolled her eyes, "Just shut up and kiss me."

Alec huffed, but he pulled her to him again. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He turned them and then slammed her into the wall. She growled at him, but he just smiled into the kiss.

He decided it was about time to move this to the bedroom, so he carried Max down the hall without taking his lips off of hers. He kicked off his boots as he walked and then went inside his room, kicking the door closed behind him.

* * *

Max was floating; Alec had actually rocked her world and now she was floating on a cloud. She turned from her back to her side to face him. He was smiling his stupid cocky grin, but she found that she was smiling at seeing it gracing his face.

He turned so he was facing her too. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. He had been right and she had loved it. She didn't want him to go, especially now.

He suddenly moved so she was lying on her back and he was hovering over her, supporting his weight on his forearms.

"You can go ahead and say it," Alec said with a smirk.

"I don't know what you're fishing for, but I'm not gonna say it," Max said with a smile.

"Sounds like you need some more proof," Alec said suggestively, "I know I'm up for round two."

Max laughed lightly, "I would love to, but I think we need to talk…"

Alec groaned and dropped his head down to her chest, his short hair tickling her face. She gently ran her fingers through his hair until he rolled off of her and onto his back. She moved until she was right next to him and then pulled his arm around her.

"You really hunt ghosts?" Max asked quietly.

"Yes, Max," Alec said on an exhale. It was still unbelievable, but he was adamant that, that was what they did. So she would believe him. And she would worry about him, and miss him… "I'm going to come back," Alec said, practically reading her thoughts.

"I know…" Max mumbled. "I'm just worried about you. I thought you were dead…"

"I know," Alec whispered and then he barely brushed his lips against her temple.

Max slowly ran her fingers across the scar on his side. It was a small, thin line and she knew it was from surgery and it was fairly recent. She'd asked him about it before, but he'd just shrugged it off.

"This is from your job, isn't it?" Max asked quietly.

Alec nodded against her, but he didn't go into details.

She took a deep breath and then said, "I don't want you to go."

"Max…"

"Don't even say that you'll be back," Max warned. "You don't know that. Your job is dangerous; you couldn't possibly know that you'll be coming back. This isn't something you can promise."

Alec leaned his head back and sighed, "I know I can't promise that…but I am and you're just going to have to trust me."

"I trust you," Max breathed out, brushing her fingers across his cheek and over his lips.

Alec leaned his head down and pressed his lips tenderly against hers.

* * *

"Well that was a waste of time," Dean grumbled as they walked back to their house.

"At least Alec and Max got some alone time," Sam mumbled back, trying to lighten Dean's mood. Mole hadn't actually needed their help, he just wanted to give everyone a chance to say goodbye to them. Dean hated goodbyes, but he'd smiled and had hugged just about every transgenic in this place.

Sam opened the door and held it for Dean to let him go through first. Dean stopped once he was inside and looked around the room. Alec and Max were both gone, but their clothes littered the floor.

"Looks like our boy's finally gettin' it!" Dean said with a triumphant smile. He held his good hand up for a high five from Sam.

Sam looked at him incredulously, "I'm not giving you a high five because Alec's getting laid."

Dean glared at him, but then started grabbing their things to pack. They were going to leave in the morning and Dean wanted a clean getaway. Sam helped him pack up and put everything in the Impala. Once they were done with that, they were going to sit on the sofa but then thought that would be too weird. Instead, they went out to the Impala and sat on the hood with a couple of beers.

"You think Bobby would come down here to give hunting lessons?" Dean asked after a few minutes.

Sam shrugged, "I guess it depends on if Max wants them to actually have hunting lessons or not."

"He could call it…Hunting 101. Isn't that what courses are called?" Dean asked with a smirk.

Sam smiled around his beer bottle, and then said, "Sometimes."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, looking up at the stars. Sam always loved just sitting on the hood of the Impala with Dean. He would talk sometimes and Sam would listen and make little comments when he needed to. It was really just nice to hang out with his brother.

"I don't know yet what we're gonna be hunting," Dean said after a few minutes. "Could be anything really…"

"We'll figure it out," Sam said. "How do you know it's a hunt?"

"I don't," Dean said with a smile. "But, I have this feeling…"

"We've worked on less, so that's good enough for me," Sam said.

Dean didn't say anything after that, but Sam did see him smile. They kicked back and just hung out for the rest of the night.

* * *

Alec woke to the sound of knocking. He was really warm on one side and he looked and saw Max was snuggled up against him. He smiled a little and pulled Max closer to him. But then the knocking started again, louder this time.

"C'mon kiddo!" Dean called from the other side of the door. "It's time to hit the road!" Alec ignored him and dozed off again. He figured a few minutes had passed, and then Dean called out again, "Alec! I will come in there if I have to!"

Alec groaned, but he finally rolled out of bed. "I'm coming!" Alec yelled back; he hoped that would keep Dean from coming in there. He scanned the floor for his jeans, unsure of where they had ended up. He finally saw them and was trying to pull them on when he looked over and saw Max looking at him.

"Max," Alec whispered.

"I know," Max replied with a small smile.

She got up and started pulling on her clothes. Alec realized that their shirts were still outside and he moved to go get them. He cracked the door open and started to move for the main room, but he looked down and saw that their shirts were lying in a pile outside their door. Alec scooped them up and then went back inside.

He tossed Max her shirt and pulled his own shirt over his head. He quickly grabbed all of his things and threw them into his duffle. Max helped by tossing his things to him from across the room. He thought he had everything so he slung the strap over his shoulder, and then looked back at Max.

"Be careful," Max said softly.

"I will…c'mon, Sam and Dean will want to say bye," Alec said. He reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her with him.

Dean was sitting on the arm of the sofa looking up at the ceiling and Sam was standing near the door. They both looked ready to leave and Alec really had mixed feelings about it. He really wanted to get back to hunting, but he would miss Max.

Dean stood up as soon as he spotted them and he walked over to them.

"Max, it's been fun," Dean said with a smile.

"Yes it has," Max agreed.

Dean looked up at the ceiling and then back at Max and said, "C'mon, bring it in." Dean held out his arms and Max smiled and walked over to give him a hug. She went over to Sam and hugged him too.

"Don't be strangers," Max said after a few minutes.

"We won't," Sam promised.

"Don't think we could be," Dean said with a glance at Alec. "And if you change your mind about hunting give us a call ok?" Max smiled and nodded. "It is real and it does help people," Dean said and Max looked like she was thinking about it, but she didn't say anything.

"We'll be in the car," Sam said after a moment. Then, he and Dean walked out the door.

Max looked over at him after they were gone, and then ran forward. He met her halfway and caught her in his arms. He held her close; he really hated goodbyes.

"Say you'll be careful," Max breathed out.

"I'll be careful," Alec promised. He held her for a few more seconds and then reluctantly, he released her. "I know you don't want to hear it, but I'll be back."

"Good," Max said with a wide smile.

"Promise that you'll be careful too," Alec said.

"I will be," Max said, her eyes sparkling.

Alec kissed her one more time and then pulled away and whispered, "Bye Max."

"Bye Alec," Max said back.

Alec walked out the door and Max followed, but stopped at the curb.

"You ready?" Dean asked, concern slipping through.

"Yeah," Alec replied, handing Sam his duffle so he could put it in the trunk.

"We'll be back soon," Dean reassure, ruffling Alec's hair before he turned for the driver's seat.

Alec got in the backseat and gave Max a small wave as they pulled away. He didn't want to talk for the first hour or so of driving, but he knew he was going to have to at some point. Sam and Dean didn't push him to talk, but they kept looking back at him.

They were three states away before Alec finally decided to break his silence, "So, what are we hunting?"

"We don't actually know yet," Dean said with a small smile.

"Cool, I like winging it," Alec said back.

"We'll see Max again soon," Sam reassured after a few minutes.

"I know," Alec replied.

"You know…" Dean started hesitantly. "You don't have to leave…you could stay with Max if you wanted…"

"I know," Alec said again. "But I want to stay with you guys."

Alec looked out the window, but he didn't miss the small smile on Dean's face or the relief on Sam's. He would miss Max, but if he would have stayed then he would have missed Sam and Dean more. They were his brothers and he didn't want to miss out on time with his family. He would see Max again, but until then he was going to hunt and spend time with Sam and Dean.

* * *

 _The End._


End file.
